Warriors Everlasting Miracles II Turn 1: Link Start
by Geasswolf
Summary: A mysterious e-mail brings Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha together for an adventure in the Warriors forest. Being brought there by a prophecy, the three set out to train and adjust to this new world in order to help discover what lies in the shadows so that the Clans' days of peace may continue, but will they be enough to solve the prophecy and help clear the sky?
1. Prologue

Hi everyone and welcome to the next full journey in my Warriors series! I kicked off Everlasting Miracles II off with the prologue bringing Lelouch back to ThunderClan, but I wanted the adventure to truly begin with the addition of Sword Art Online to the series. I hope that you all enjoy. Also, I should warn you all that since this story basically is my crossover twist on the A Vision of Shadows series, starting with the Apprentice's Quest. There will be spoilers, and if you've read it already, you'll notice that I change little details, but nothing really major, such as making canon cats die.

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Warriors Everlasting Miracles II Turn 1: Link Start

Prologue

 _The sun glowed brightly_ outside of the streets of Japan. As usual, Kazuto Kirigaya, known better by his friends as Kirito, was in his room using his computer. He was woken up by his phone's text notification, which was from his girlfriend, Asuna Yuuki, who told him to get online to chat. _She said that it was something important, but what could it be?_ He wondered. He heard a knock on his door and walked over to open it and see his cousin, Suguha.

"Suguha, good morning." He greeted her.

"Morning. Did you just wake up?" He nodded. "Well, you should go check your e-mail. Apparently you, Asuna, and I are all a part of some group message."

"Really? From who?" She shook her head.

"The sender was unknown. I was reading a bit into it and…" She stopped and looked over at his computer once she heard Asuna's voice.

"Kirito, are you there?" He walked over to his desk, and she followed. He tweaked his webcam a bit so that she could see him clearly. "There you are, oh and Suguha's here too. Hi!" She waved at his cousin, and she did the same.

"Suguha was telling me about some strange e-mail sent to us three." She nodded her head. "What did it say?"

"Well, maybe you should go see it for yourself." Asuna told him.

"How strange is the e-mail anyway you two?"

"Strange enough that us three are the only ones that received it." Suguha responded. "See, right there Kirito. Click on it." Kirito moved his cursor over to the e-mail and clicked on it. He saw that there was a starry background behind the text.

"Let's see here…'Embrace what you find in the shadows, for only they can clear the sky. The clans have lived in peace, but that time is soon approaching its end. We need you to come and help during their time of need. We've had saviors to the clans before much like yourselves so we only ask that it's in your hearts to aid the clans.'" Kirito placed a hand under his chin. "Well it sure sounds like a plea for help, but the sender is unknown…so who's to say this isn't just a piece of spam mail?"

"There's an easy solution to that." Asuna told her. "Kirito, can you ask Yui to try and find out who sent us the message?"

"Already on it, mommy." They heard Yui's voice from Kirito's screen. They saw another screen added to their chat and saw that it was Yui, Kirito and Asuna's adopted daughter from SAO. "Did you three see the attachment file on it? It's called TC."

"Yeah, it was like a game file or something." Suguha said.

"Leafa…oh, I mean Suguha, is right." Yui responded. "It is a game file, but I'm looking through it now and that isn't completely factual. There are components of it that I'm not even familiar with at all." The others began to worry.

"So, do we trust it, or not?" Kirito asked. "Yui, were you able to decipher who the unknown sender was?"

"Yes, apparently the sender goes by the name 'Spottedleaf'." She answered. Kirito opened up a new tab and typed the name. "No need, daddy, I can do it."

"Right, sorry Yui." He told her. The three waited for a bit until Yui finally spoke again.

"I can't find anything on the name other than pictures of spotted leaves and what a spotted leaf could mean."

"So it must just be a screen name or something."

"I think we should check it out." Asuna stated. "I mean, if it's a game, then it's a game and we simply log out."

"But what if it isn't?" Suguha countered. "Yui did say that it's partially a game file after all."

"Wait! I've found something!" Yui exclaimed. "Deeper into the file I found that it's emulated as a game file only so you three can access it via AmuSphere. It's apparently normally called a portal file, but like I said before, this is a file type I'm seeing for the first time."

"A portal file, huh? Putting that and the fact that it's a plea for help together must mean that this all is important." Kirito told them. "I'm convinced. I agree with Asuna and say that we dive into this game, or whatever it actually is."

"I think it's a good idea. I guess we're going on an all-new adventure you guys." Suguha stated with excitement in her voice. "This is awesome! I'm going to go set my AmuSphere up. See you two wherever this thing takes us." Suguha waved at the two other girls on her cousin's screen before leaving his room.

"She seems really hyped about this all." Asuna stated, and Kirito let out a small laugh.

"Yeah. It's great to see her like that. Besides, it does seem like an epic way to start our summer break." He told his girlfriend. "Alright, I have everything set up. I'll see you there." Kirito hung up on his side of the video call. "Yui, will you be able to be there with us?"

"I hope so. I need to make sure that you, mommy, and Suguha are safe." She told him with a smile.

"Okay then. Hope to see you there." Kirito unplugged his AmuSphere from his computer and brought it over with him to his bed. _Ironically I just got out of bed only to get back in._ He thought. _Let's hope that this file's safe. It has to be. Why would someone just send us three specifically a portal file, whatever that is._ He placed the visor-like device over his eyes and selected the new TC file. _Well…here goes nothing. Link Start!_

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So, what did you think? Okay, so Warriors hasn't fully been implemented yet, but I'm sure you all know what's going to happen next. Just a heads up for some, or most of you: Kirito and Asuna know who Lelouch is and have met him. They met him back in my MLP series, and as much as I'd like to forget about it since I no longer am affiliated with the MLP fandom, I want to keep the relation those three have. As for Suguha, she and Lelouch are going to meet for the first time. I just wanted to clear that out before there's any confusion as to how they know each other. I'm sorry that that's the case, but I hope that you can understand. Anyway, I hope to see you in the next chapter when Kirito, Suguha, and Asuna set paw in the Warriors world. ~Geasswolf Out.


	2. Chapter 1: New World, Familiar Cat

Welcome back to Link Start. In this chapter, Warriors finally gets involved, so get ready to witness a furrier version of Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha as their journey into the Warriors world begins.

 **SPOILER ALERT:** If you haven't begun Warriors: A Vision of Shadows yet, please refrain from reading this story until you do so. It is heavily based on this arc with my own crossover twist added. You've been warned...but I still hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 1: New World, Familiar Cat

 _Kirito's eyes slowly opened_ as he began to regain consciousness. After accessing the mysterious file he was blinded by a bright light and was apparently transported to a forest. _Whoa. Where…am I?_ He slowly got up, but fell down in the process. "Ow. What the heck?" He told himself out loud, wondering how he failed such an easy task. While on the ground, he stuck his hands out in front of him, but let out a gasp when he saw two black paws instead. _What's going on here?_ Using a paw, he swiped downward to open the game menu, but nothing appeared. _Maybe there's a different way to open up the menu._ "Yui! Are you there?" He called out, but there was no response.

"Kirito, is that you?" He turned his head around to see a she-cat with cream colored fur that sounded exactly like Asuna. She walked over to him and he looked up and stared into her hazel eyes.

"Asuna? Why are you a cat?" He asked her.

"You're the one to talk." She responded with a giggle. "Try getting up on four legs. You've probably done it before." Kirito did as he was instructed and got up correctly this time. "Now go look at yourself over in that stream over there." He now walked over to the stream and looked at himself. Kirito was a black cat with dark gray eyes, along with fur in the style of his hair that hung over his eyes. He gave his tail a small wag and smiled.

"This is awesome!" He looked back at her. "How do you feel about all this?"

"I think it's cute that we're cats now." She responded. "Although, something tells me that this isn't a game, but a different world. I can't open any menus." Asuna swiped one paw in the air in every possible direction with no avail.

"That's what I was thinking too. Hey, where's Suguha?" He asked. The two heard screaming from above them and Kirito looked up to see a cat falling towards him. He tried moving away, but the cat landed on his back. Asuna saw that a light ginger furred she-cat with green eyes was now on top of Kirito.

"I think I found her." She told him with a giggle.

"At least I'm still alive from it all. Suguha, do you mind getting off?" Kirito asked his cousin.

"Oh, sorry Kazuto!" Suguha apologized, getting off of her cousin, but stumbling as she tried to stand up.

"Suguha, try getting up on four legs. I'm sure you've done it at least once while you were young." Asuna informed the light ginger she-cat, her feline appearance based on her ALO avatar. Once she got the hang of it, she walked over to the stream to look at herself.

"We're cats now! This is so cute!" Suguha cheered, watching her tail wag. "Hmmm…" With a grin, she walked over to Kirito and placed a paw on his tail before giving it a yank, causing him to yell and jump into the air, his reaction causing the two she-cats to laugh. "Now you know how Sinon felt."

"Suguha!" He looked at her with a pout, stroking his tail with a paw now. "So, we're all cats now with no idea where we are." He watched Suguha swipe her paw in the air but he shook his head. "We're not in a game. This is a different world, we're sure of it."

"A different world? Just like the one you and Asuna were in for a bit?" Suguha stated, and Kirito nodded.

"Well, I guess we should start walking around to find whatever clans need our help. Actually, why don't you all stay here and I'll tell you if the coast is clear." Kirito offered.

"Off to play hero again? Why don't we go with you?" Asuna asked.

"I mean, if you're up for it, but we're all unarmed here, so I guess we have to be good with our claws." Kirito replied, lifting a paw up and unsheathing his claws. "Okay, that's pretty cool." Without warning, Kirito broke through a row of bushes, and the other two followed him. Once they walked through the bushes, they saw no sign of Kirito on the other side.

"Oh great, where'd he go now?" Asuna wondered.

"I'm not sure, but we should try to find his tracks." Suguha suggested.

"Hey, I'm over here!" They heard Kirito call out. They walked in the direction of his voice and once they passed through a few trees, they saw him sitting in front of a lake. The two she-cats walked over to join him. "Looks pretty neat, huh?"

"Yeah. It looks like the lake in front of our house in SAO." Asuna told him, reminiscing about the time they shared together in their cabin. "We should start looking for the clans spoken about in the e-mail though."

"Right. Sorry that I got sidetracked." Kirito got up and as he was about to make his way into the forest, a cat leaped out of the bushes to his left and pinned him to the ground.

"Kirito!" Asuna yelled as she saw the cat on top of him let out an angry snarl.

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?" Kirito looked up and saw the black she-cat now on top of him. He tried moving, but she just strengthened the pressure she had on him.

"Wait, this is ThunderClan? We were sent here to help you!" Kirito explained. "Um…I know you're trying to protect your clan, but could you let me go?"

"Please, do you think I'd believe what you're telling me?"

"Nightheart, where are you?" They heard a voice call out.

"Over here! I caught a cat and his friends!" She replied. Kirito looked over at Asuna when they heard the other voice. They knew it sounded familiar. Out of the bushes, a black tom with violet eyes walked out along with an orange tabby she-cat and a golden tabby tom. The black cat saw the other two cats and they noticed his gaze lock onto Asuna. He then walked over to where Kirito was on the ground and once he saw him, the black tom's violet eyes went wide.

"Kirito, is that you?" Suguha looked over at her cousin and the ThunderClan cats did the same.

"I knew that voice sounded familiar." Kirito responded with a smile. "Lelouch…could you tell your friend to get off of me?"

"Nightheart, it's okay, they're friendly." The she-cat moved off of Kirito and helped him get up.

"Lelouch, it really is you!" Asuna said with joy, running over to get a closer look at him. "Kirito and I weren't sure that we'd see you again!"

"You're not the only one. What are you all doing here anyway?"

"Father, do you know these cats?" The black she-cat asked.

"We're here because of a…" Kirito's eyes suddenly went wide. "Wait…Father!? Lelouch, I didn't know this was your daughter!" A blush formed on Kirito's face. "Sorry if I hurt you or anything, Nightheart!"

"I should be the one apologizing to you." She said with a giggle.

"Don't worry Nightheart, Kirito can handle it." Asuna assured her. "She does look a lot like her father. I'm sure she's as kind and diligent as him as well."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, can we get an explanation about this all?" The golden tom asked.

"Please? How do you two know Lelouch?" Suguha added.

"Oh, right. I should introduce you all. Lionblaze, Sparkpaw, Nightheart, this is Kirito and Asuna. I met them in one of the worlds I visited." Lelouch explained. "I'm guessing that she is also one of your friends?"

"Yup. This is Suguha. She's Kirito's cousin." Asuna introduced the she-cat, who waved with a paw.

"It's nice to meet you, Suguha." Lelouch greeted her with a smile. "Okay, now that the introductions are done, we can get back to the main question: What are you three doing in this world?"

"The three of us were given some sort of prophecy. It talked about embracing the dark or something. I can't remember exactly how it went." Kirito answered.

"That's the same prophecy that brought me back here…" Lelouch realized. "Well then, I guess we get to work together again you two." Lelouch told Kirito and Asuna with a smile. "Sorry, I'm just shocked that I'm seeing you both again, and it's great to meet your cousin, Kirito."

"It's nice to meet you too, Lelouch. I'm pretty sure Kirito has told me about you before." She informed him.

"All good things, I hope?" Lelouch replied with a small laugh. "We should take you four to ThunderClan. I'm sure that Bramblestar will welcome you knowing that you've received a prophecy. Just follow us. Lionblaze, do you mind leading?"

"Not at all." The golden tom took the lead and the other cats followed him closely behind.

"Lelouch, is that your other daughter?" Asuna asked, looking over at Sparkpaw, who now had an embarrassed look on her face.

"Who? Sparkpaw? She's my apprentice, actually. You see, in the clans there are warriors who mentor apprentices into becoming warriors like themselves. Bramblestar let me mentor his daughter, which surprised me because I just returned to this world when she was apprenticed, but it was because he wanted me to spend time with Nightheart more."

"Aw, your leader must be really sweet to let you spend time with your daughter." Suguha commented. "It's kind of surreal actually. She looks as old as you, Lelouch."

"I get that a lot, but regardless, my father knows best, so I don't try to compete with him." Nightheart told them, pressing close to Lelouch.

"Your father is amazing, Nightheart. I'm sure that you couldn't ask for a better one." Kirito told her, causing both the father and daughter to blush.

"Funny, usually I'm the one who says the sentimental stuff." Asuna stated, and the fur on Kirito's face began to grow hot.

"Well I just respect Lelouch a lot, that's all." Kirito stammered.

"Thanks, Kirito, it means a lot." Lelouch responded. "Anyway, what have you two been up to? I assume you made it back to Japan safely?"

"Yup, but after that it's been one real adventure. I had to save Asuna from another game, and then I had to save other gamers in another game as well." Kirito answered.

"Don't forget to mention the fun quest we did in ALO after everything was over." Suguha stated.

"Right. That was pretty much a break for me. Nothing serious, just a fun quest…but now we're back to the serious stuff again." He let out a sigh, and Asuna hit him with a paw.

"Kirito! That's not the right attitude to have for being one of the chosen to know about the prophecy." She scolded him. "Besides, being cats, seeing Lelouch again, and having the possibility of making new friends makes it all the better."

"I agree. You should be a bit more positive, Kazuto." His cousin added.

"Wait, I thought his name was Kirito." Nightheart said, confusion in her voice.

"Sorry, I forgot to explain that. My real name's Kazuto Kirigaya, but in-game I'm called Kirito. You can call me whatever you like, Nightheart." He told her with a smile.

"That's interesting. I'll try to stick to one name whenever I address you." Nightheart told him.

The group continued their walk until they reached the thorn tunnel that led into ThunderClan. Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha followed them through and when they made it to the other side they looked around the camp in awe. They never expected cats in the wild to have the ability to build something like this.

"For cats, this is amazing." Suguha commented.

"We try our best to keep our camp looking good. Glad you three like it." Lionblaze said. They saw a dark ginger she-cat approaching them, and Sparkpaw broke away to greet her.

"It's good to see you all back. Find anything bad on our borders?" She asked.

"No Squirrelflight, but we did find some cats that my father knows." Nightheart informed her.

"Hi, I'm Kirito, and this is Asuna and Suguha." The black tom greeted, pointing his tail at the other two cats as he named them.

"It's nice to meet you three. I'm sure that if you're friends with Lelouch you should be able to stay here." She told them with a smile. "I'll go get Bramblestar." She padded over to the leader's den and Sparkpaw turned around to look at the three.

"That's my mom. She's the deputy, which is the second best cat in the clan, and Bramblestar's the leader, and my dad!" She informed them with pride.

"Really? You're going to grow up to be a great warrior then, huh?" Asuna told her with a smile.

"Yup, the same goes for my brother as well. I'll go look for him!" Sparkpaw ran off, and Asuna giggled.

"She's really cute."

"Yeah, but she's also a bit too prideful sometimes." Lelouch told her with a laugh. They saw Squirrelflight return to them with Bramblestar to her side.

"Hello Bramblestar, it's nice to meet you." Asuna bowed her head, and Suguha did the same, Kirito looking at the two.

"Hiya." Like before, Asuna struck him with a paw. "Ow! Sorry, sorry!" Kirito now bowed his head, causing Bramblestar to smirk.

"It's okay you three. No need for formalities." He assured them. "It's nice to meet cats that Lelouch has been acquainted with. I'm guessing that you're here for the same reason that Lelouch is?" They nodded. "Excellent." Bramblestar's voice was filled with joy, but his expression suddenly faded.

"Is something wrong?" Suguha asked.

"It's just that if the other clans found out that ThunderClan had three more cats with knowledge of the prophecy they may get the wrong idea." He explained. "For the most part, they believe that StarClan, the home of our deceased warriors, favors us."

"Oh…then should we go over to the other clans or something?" Kirito asked, but Bramblestar shook his head.

"It's safer if you stay here, to be honest." The leader said. "For now, make yourselves at home, but know that you'll need warrior training to survive in this world."

"Right. Thank you, Bramblestar." Asuna told him with a bow before he left with Squirrelflight. She saw Sparkpaw running over to them with another cat around her age. "Is this your brother?"

"Yup. Alderpaw, this is Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha. They're friends with Lelouch." His sister told him.

"It's nice to meet you, Alderpaw." Suguha greeted him with a smile, and they noticed him blush in embarrassment.

"Guessing he's a bit shy?" Kirito said.

"Well, yeah. If you know Lelouch then you must be as amazing as he is." Alderpaw told them. "Actually, you two look alike." He told Kirito.

"They do, don't they? I think the only difference is their eyes and that Kirito's a bit smaller than Lelouch." Sparkpaw thought.

"Let's hope mother doesn't get confused." Nightheart joked.

"That's right! Lelouch, when will we get to meet her?" Asuna asked.

"Why don't we give you three a tour of the camp? You'll be able to meet her and the rest of the clan." Lionblaze suggested.

"Sounds great. Why don't we go meet the lucky cat first?" Kirito suggested.

"Might as well. Follow me." Again, Lionblaze led the group until they reached one of the dens in the camp. "This is the warriors' den. You'll be sleeping here. Come inside." They walked inside and saw a few cats resting, but for the most part, it did seem quite roomy. Nightheart left the group and walked over to one of the cats lying down. The cat got up and stretched before walking over to the cats at the entrance. Once she walked over, Lelouch walked over so that Nightheart was between him and the she-cat.

"Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, this is Ivypool. She's my mate." Lelouch introduced her to the three and she greeted them with a smile. "Ivypool, this is Kirito and Asuna. I met them in one of the worlds I went to after I left ThunderClan." He said. "And this is Suguha, Kirito's cousin."

"It's nice to meet you, Ivypool. You and Lelouch have a beautiful daughter." Asuna said, causing the she-cat to blush.

"Thank you, Asuna. It's nice to meet more of Lelouch's friends."

"Well, actually Suguha and Lelouch just met today." Kirito told her, but Lelouch shook his head.

"I thought we were friends already, right Suguha?" Lelouch looked at her and the she-cat nodded.

"W-well yeah! Any friend of Kirito and Asuna has to be friendly, so I think we're friends." Suguha replied, a small blush on her face. She then heard Kirito let out a small laugh. "What's so funny?"

"I was only kidding. Of course you're both friends already." His cousin hit him with a paw. "Ow…I said I was kidding!"

"I know you did, but you can be really annoying sometimes." She told him. "Lionblaze, there's so many more cats in here. Are we really going to remember them all?"

"It seems like a bit at first, but Lelouch here took a while, so I think you three will be fine." He assured her. "My mate, Cinderheart, is over there." Lionblaze pointed a paw towards where she was.

"Hi!" Cinderheart got up and padded over to the others. "I overheard that you three know Lelouch. It's nice to meet you." She looked over at Kirito and Asuna. "I'm guessing that you both are a couple, right?"

"Yeah. What gave it away?" Kirito wondered.

"You remind me of Lionblaze and I for some reason." She said with a smile. "Don't you think so, Lionblaze?"

"I guess. I don't know where you come up with some of this stuff sometimes." Cinderheart gave him a small shove and Suguha giggled.

"You both definitely remind me of the two."

"I should introduce you both to our son. Our two daughters are out at the moment." Cinderheart told them. "Fernsong, come over here and meet some of Lelouch's friends." They saw a yellow tabby tom stand up and walk over to the group.

"Hi, I'm Fernsong." He greeted them with a smile. "It's actually really cool to meet Lelouch's friends that he made from different worlds. Sorry that Sorrelstripe and Hollytuft are out right now, but you'll meet my sisters eventually."

"It's okay. It's nice to meet you." Suguha told him with a smile.

"I can't believe you two didn't introduce me yet." Ivypool let out a giggle and Lelouch looked over at the she-cat who was walking over to them.

"Sorry, Dovewing. Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, this is Dovewing, Ivypool's sister."

"Hi you three. I hope that you'll feel comfortable here in ThunderClan for however long you're here." She greeted. "Hopefully we can train together as well. You'll need to learn how to live like a warrior if you're going to solve this prophecy."

"Right. I can't wait to learn how to fight, actually." Kirito stated. "Can we start today?"

"Calm down there, Kirito. Why don't we stick to introductions today?" Lionblaze said with a small laugh. For the rest of the time, the cats helped introduce Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha to every cat in the warriors' den. After hearing all of the names, Kirito placed a paw on his head, the list being huge, but it didn't help that they were informed that some of the warriors were out and that there were more cats in the other dens.

"Good luck on your trip around camp, you three. You'll like it here, though, I promise." Lelouch told them.

"You're not coming with us?" Suguha asked.

"Did you want me to, Suguha?"

"I was just asking…is all." She replied with a small blush.

"Don't worry, I'm just going to stay here with Nightheart and Ivypool. I'll see you three later."

"Okay. Have fun with family time, you three." Asuna told them before the small group left the warriors' den. "Lionblaze, where are we going next?"

"To the medicine cat's den. My brother, Jayfeather is there with Leafpool, my mother." He informed them as they made their way towards their next destination.

"I didn't know we were going in there. I'm not in the mood to be yelled at!" Sparkpaw complained, causing Asuna to let out a giggle.

"What's she talking about, Lionblaze?"

"My brother. He's a bit moody and grumpy, but what can you do?" He replied with a laugh. The group stood at the entrance to the medicine cat's den and looked inside. They saw herbs and flowers around it, neatly stacked and put in piles.

"Oh, hi Lionblaze. Are these the cats who received the prophecy?" Leafpool asked before standing up and walking over to them once they walked inside. "I'm Leafpool. It's nice to meet you three."

"Hi, Leafpool. I'm Asuna, and this is Kirito and his cousin, Suguha." Asuna greeted. She then looked over at the gray tom and his blind gaze touched hers. She walked over to him. "I'm guessing you must be Jayfeather. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too…Asuna, was it?"

"Yes." Jayfeather sniffed the air, remembering the she-cat's scent. "I don't want to sound mean but…is it hard being a medicine cat…being blind?" Sparkpaw's eyes widened.

"Oh no…here it comes!"

"Not really, actually. Every herb has a certain scent, so I just learn what it's from and what that herb does." He calmly answered.

"I thought you said he was moody." Kirito whispered over to Sparkpaw.

"He is...but I guess Asuna asked him nicely." Kirito walked over next to Asuna and Jayfeather turned his head towards him.

"Jayfeather, this is Kirito."

"It's nice to meet you. I think it's awesome that you can do all of this stuff, actually. I can't imagine how difficult it is."

"With the proper learning, it's simple, but thank you for your praise." As Kirito and Jayfeather were talking, Asuna noticed a dark brown she-cat. She saw that something was wrong with her hindlegs, so she approached her.

"Hi, I'm Asuna. That's Kirito, and that's Suguha." Asuna pointed a paw over to each other cat respectively.

"I'm Briarlight. You probably are wondering what's wrong with me, huh?" Asuna slowly nodded her head. "I had an accident when I was young and it left me unable to walk."

"Oh…I'm so sorry to hear that, Briarlight."

"It's okay. Jayfeather and Leafpool take really great care of me."

"That's good to hear." Asuna let out a smile. "I guess I'll see you sometime soon. You wouldn't mind me coming over to visit you whenever, right?" Briarlight's eyes gleamed.

"I wouldn't mind at all. Maybe Jayfeather might, through."

"I'll see what I can do." Asuna walked over to where Jayfeather was and Suguha had just walked up to him and greeted herself.

"Okay, so…Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha, right?" Jayfeather turned his gaze to each cat by how he named them.

"Yup." Suguha confirmed.

"Great. We'll be working together to solve this prophecy, so don't hesitate to come over here if you have any weird dreams, or if you get hurt for that matter."

"Will do, thanks Jayfeather, and thank you too, Leafpool." Kirito told them.

"Alright you three, ready to go?" Lionblaze asked, and they nodded.

"Actually, can you all wait out for me for a second?" Asuna asked.

"Sure." Lionblaze walked out with the others, leaving Asuna in the medicine cat's den.

"Is there something you need, Asuna?" Jayfeather wondered.

"Well…it's more of a request than anything, but feel free to say no if you have to." She began. "I was wondering if I could…learn more about the medicine that you use here. Is it possible for me to become a medicine cat?" Leafpool walked over to her.

"Asuna, you and Kirito are together, right?" The she-cat nodded. Asuna looked over at Leafpool and then over at Jayfeather.

"Medicine cats aren't allowed to have mates, Asuna." Jayfeather informed her.

"But…Lionblaze told me that Leafpool was your mother."

"I had to give up my medicine cat status once I broke the warrior code…but StarClan, the place where are fallen warriors reside, forgave me." Leafpool explained.

"Oh. I should've been more informed before I asked about it. Sorry about that, you two." She apologized. "I'll make sure to see you two in case anything about the prophecy rises." The she-cat began making her way back to the others.

"Wait!" Asuna stopped when she heard Jayfeather's voice. "I wouldn't mind teaching you about some medicine…if that's okay." He told her, causing her to smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you're curious. I'm surprised that a cat from another world is actually interested in medicine. You can also come in and help Briarlight from time to time, just like Lelouch does." Briarlight's face filled with joy. Even though she met Asuna today, the gentleness in her voice was something she knew she wanted to hear often. "That's what you both were talking about, right?"

"Yes. I really don't know what to say. Thank you, Jayfeather!" Asuna walked over to the medicine cat and gave him a hug, the fur on Jayfeather's face growing hot.

"Y-yeah, it's no problem Asuna." She let him go and she let out a small giggle.

"Sorry for the hug if you're not that type of cat."

"N-no, it's okay, really." He said, letting out a kind smile. "You should go continue your tour now."

"Oh, right! Thanks again, Jayfeather, and you too, Leafpool!" Once Asuna left, Leafpool walked over to Jayfeather.

"What is it?" Her son asked, noticing that she was now next to him.

"I'm happy that you agreed to help Asuna learn a bit more about medicine. I'm not sure if it's okay to teach a cat a bit about it, but it's not against the warrior code."

"It's not every day you meet a cat that actually wants to learn about medicine." He stated.

"She is cute too, Jayfeather, just saying." Briarlight added with a giggle and the tom began to blush.

"Do you think that's why I offered? I can't even see her!"

"True, but you were acting nice to her when she asked if it was hard for you being a medicine cat." Leafpool stated.

"Because I just met her and she sounded a bit scared when she was talking to me, that's all." Jayfeather assured the two. _I wonder how much she'll be able to learn. I'm sure it's unheard of a cat actually willing to learn about medicine. I remember when I was young I didn't want to, but...maybe teaching Asuna about medicine has some ties with the prophecy._

Asuna, Suguha, Kirito, and Lionblaze now walked into the queen's den. Alderpaw and Sparkpaw were no longer with them, the two apprentices leaving for some reason.

"This is the queen's den you three. This is where she-cats nursing or expecting kits stay." Lionblaze explained. "That's Daisy over there, and that's Lilyheart with her three kits, Honeykit, Larkkit, and Leafkit." As he was introducing them, Asuna and Suguha giggled as they watched the kits work together and knock Kirito to the ground.

"They're a strong bunch, that's for sure!" He said, looking at the three kits who triumphantly stood beside him.

"I'm sorry about these three." Lilyheart apologized with a smile. "I don't think I caught your name, actually."

"I'm Kirito, and that's Asuna and Suguha." Kirito told her, pointing a paw at the two while he was still on the floor.

"Your kits are so cute, Lilyheart." Asuna commented, the three now walking over to her and looking up at her. "Hi there you three. I bet you're going to grow up to become amazing warriors."

"I'll make sure to be the best one!" Larkkit stated.

"No you won't! I'm the one who knocked Kirito over!" Leafkit retorted.

"No, I did!" Honeykit added, the three now complaining.

"Well how about you knock him over again?" Suguha suggested as she helped Kirito back up. The three smiled and wasted no time in pouncing towards Kirito, knocking him down again. "I think they like you, Kirito."

"You didn't get that the first time?" He asked, the kits lightly striking him on the face.

"Okay you three, that's enough. Get off of Kirito." Lilyheart told her kits.

"It's always the toms that kits are aggressive towards." Daisy commented. "They usually do the same exact thing when Lelouch is around here."

"Is he usually the only one who comes here to play with them?" Suguha asked, and Lilyheart nodded.

"I was the same exact way the first time he was here. I'm glad he's back so that my kits are able to experience the care and love that he gives." She said with a smile.

"It just sounds like so much fun. I don't blame him for wanting to come here whenever he has the chance. Hey, maybe we should come here just like Lelouch does." Suguha suggested.

"Really?" Larkkit said with a bit of excitement in his voice.

"More cats to play with!" Honeykit cheered.

"Yay! Hey, why don't we get separate playmates then?" Leafkit suggested. "I call Suguha!" Leafkit ran over to her and pressed herself close to her coat.

"C'mon, that's not fair. Why limit yourself to just one of us?" Asuna said with a laugh. "We'll see what we can arrange. Is that okay with you, Lilyheart?"

"Of course. Although I think now they're going to be too excited every day." She said with a giggle. "You three should go on and see the rest of the Clan now. You'll be happy to stay here for a while."

"With this kits around, who wouldn't?" Kirito said with a laugh. "It was nice meeting you all. We'll be sure to visit whenever we can."

"Bye!" The three kits waved as they left the queen's den.

"They were so cute!" Suguha stated, and Asuna nodded.

"I know, right? I hope we'll have time to play with them."

"With warrior training and the prophecy we have, I hope so. It already seems like a bit just thinking about it." Kirito added.

"Don't worry, you'll get the best training possible. Some of the other cats and I will make sure you learn everything you need to know, from hunting to fighting, in order for you three to successfully help the Clans." Lionblaze assured them. "We're going to visit the elder's den now. This is where our retired warriors stay." He walked inside and the three followed. "Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, this is Purdy, Sandstorm, Millie, and Graystripe."

"More cats from another world? It feels like just yesterday we found Lelouch, Lionblaze." Graystripe commented.

"For elders they seem older than the other warriors, but not by much, actually." Kirito stated.

"Lionblaze, why are there some cats who have a different name structure?" Suguha wondered.

"Some cats that join ThunderClan aren't clan born, so when they come here they usually keep the name that they're known by, just like how Lelouch is, and I'm sure how you three will be." He explained.

"That makes sense."

"Just don't underestimate any cat like that. Firestar, our past leader, was a kittypet…and one of the greatest cats I ever knew." Sandstorm told them.

"Firestar was Sandstorm's mate." Lionblaze explained. "What she says is true, though. You three can make amazing warriors. You just need the heart and determination."

"We'll make sure to do our best to protect the Clans. That's why we were brought here after all." Kirito stated.

"He's right. We're not exactly ready to solve this prophecy yet, but I'm sure we will be." Suguha added, causing the elders to smile.

"It's great to see that all cats from a different world are so selfless. First it was Lelouch, then Sora, Riku, and Kairi, and now you three." Sandstorm stated. "ThunderClan will do its best to train you in the life of a warrior, I promise you that."

"I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not sure about these two though." Kirito said.

"Of course we are…just not as much as you." Suguha retorted.

"You three do realize that warrior training isn't exactly meant to be exciting. The training you'll go through isn't just to help solve the prophecy, it's for your own survival in this world as well." Lionblaze informed them. "I'm not trying to scare you three, but it's the truth."

"Don't worry, Lionblaze, Kirito and Asuna have been through exactly the same thing." Suguha assured him.

"Well then that just means we'll have to make sure you're the most prepared, Suguha." A blush formed on the light ginger she-cat's face.

"I guess…but I don't want to be treated like a baby!"

"You three will both get the same treatment, I'm sure of it." Millie added.

"She's right. Sorry if I offended you by my last comment." Lionblaze apologized.

"No, it's okay. I should be the one apologizing. You just want to make sure that I'm safe here, which I appreciate." She let out a kind smile, which he reflected back at her.

"Well, anyway, we should get going. You four don't hesitate to ask these three for assistance when they're not doing anything." Lionblaze let out a small laugh. "Okay you three, let's go." The four left the elder's den and once they were out, the golden warrior turned around to look at the three. "We have one more stop, which isn't really as important since you've met the two already, but let's head over to the apprentices' den." The group walked until they reached their final spot on their tour of ThunderClan. They looked inside and saw that Sparkpaw greeted them with a big smile.

"Hi and welcome to the apprentices' den you three!"

"So this is why you two left us, huh?" Kirito stated. "You two must be glad you're the only apprentices at the moment. You get this den all to yourselves."

"Yeah, it's pretty great, right Alderpaw?" Sparkpaw looked over at her brother.

"What? Oh, yeah, it's okay, I guess." He muttered.

"Sorry about Alderpaw. He's not as excited as I am about being an apprentice."

"Hey, that's not true at all, I mean, it is, but I am excited about it all." He retorted.

"Well that's good to hear. I'm sure you and your sister compete a lot, huh?" Suguha said.

"Well…not really." Alderpaw said with a sigh. "We do try and help each other, though, so that's something."

"It's better than nothing. Whatever gets you both to become warriors, right?" Kirito told them with a smile and Sparkpaw nodded.

"Yup! Hey Kirito, maybe you can come out with me during my training and we could train together!"

"That's not a bad idea, Sparkpaw. Two of the three can go along with you and Alderpaw while the other is trained by some of the other warriors." Lionblaze stated.

"You're welcome." Sparkpaw said, pride in her voice. "So, are you three done with your tour now?"

"Yup. You two were out last stop." Suguha replied. "So Lionblaze, what are we doing now that we're done?"

"I think for the rest of the day you three should get to know some of the cats around here a bit more. Tomorrow you three should start learning how to fight and hunt."

"Sounds like a plan." Kirito agreed, but suddenly, his stomach growled, a blush of embarrassment on his face.

"More like it sounds like someone's hungry." Suguha joked, letting out a giggle.

"Yeah. I don't even think I ate breakfast." He realized.

"Well the fresh kill pile's over there. Actually, this can be your first real experience in this world." Lionblaze stated. "Follow me." The three followed the warrior to the fresh kill pile, each looking at it with uneasiness. "Pick whatever you want, Kirito, oh and you too Asuna and Suguha."

"I don't think I'm all that hungry…" Suguha said, turning her gaze away from the food in front of her.

"Yeah…I ate before I got here." Asuna added.

"Well you both will have to eat it eventually, so why not get it over with?" Lionblaze reasoned. "Lelouch was the same way when he arrived, but now he eats it like there's no problem." Kirito looked at the she-cats and then back at the pile.

"I guess you're right about that…" Again, Kirito's stomach growled. "Okay, okay, I heard you the first time…" He slowly walked closer to the pile and picked up the limp body of a mouse in his jaws. He dropped it at his paws and gulped. "I mean, cats eat mice…and it's the smallest thing there." He brought his muzzle closer to the prey, shaking as he eased closer and closer to take his first bite. He slowly dug his fangs into the mouse's body and teared away a piece of its flesh. He slowly began to chew, Asuna and Suguha watching him closely to see his reaction. They noticed a sudden glint in his eyes and he began to chew quicker. Once he swallowed, a look of surprise filled his face.

"It's great! You two really are missing out!" He told them before going in for another bite. "Here, try some." With his mouth full, Kirito moved the mouse towards the two, who slowly back away from it.

"Do you want to go first?" Asuna asked Suguha, their eyes connecting.

"The honor's all yours, Asuna." She responded. Asuna looked down at the mouse and, just like Kirito, she slowly moved her mouth closer to it, taking her first bite of fresh kill. She was shocked that it wasn't as revolting as she anticipated.

"It's strange at first, but it's not that bad." Asuna informed the she-cat once she finished her piece of fresh-kill. "I'm sure Kirito's just overreacting because he's hungry." She said with a laugh, looking back at the tom who now picked his own mouse out of the pile.

"Well, if you both find it appealing, I guess I should try it." Unlike when the other two took their first bite, Suguha didn't hesitate to take a bite of the mouse.

"How is it, Suguha? Good, right?" Lionblaze asked her.

"Yeah. It might just be our new cat forms or something because I would never imagine eating anything raw…except maybe fish."

"That's over at RiverClan. You can learn more about the other Clans tomorrow if we have time." Lionblaze told them. "At least you three don't need to starve anymore, but you might have to learn how to eat more than just mice, oh and try to only take one piece of fresh kill at a time. I know you three might already realize that, but I just want to make sure."

"Yeah, Kirito!" Suguha scolded him. "You'd be the one out of us three to do that in the future."

"C'mon Suguha, you don't have to be like that." Lionblaze let out a chuckle at the two cousins' interaction.

"I'm sure you three are going to be great company around the Clan."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The stars illuminated the night sky above the forest. For the remainder of the day, Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha got to know the cats of ThunderClan a bit more and in turn, the warriors learned more about the three new cats staying in ThunderClan. The three told them stories of their adventures in their world, every cat listening to them intrigued by their tales of battling monsters and saving lives. By the time Kirito finished the current story he was telling, he let out a yawn.

"I guess all that storytelling made me lose track of time." He stated, looking outside at the moon. "Yup. Anyway, you all make sure that the others who are out right now hear that story, okay?"

"You know, it's neat that each group of cats we've told stories to know some that the others don't because of their different tasks." Asuna said. "What do you think, Suguha?"

"Maybe you should ask her in the morning." Cinderheart said with a giggle, looking over at the light ginger she-cat, who was currently sleeping. Kirito placed a paw on her cousin and shook her softly, her bright green eyes slowly opening.

"Wha— did I fall asleep?" She wondered and saw that the other warriors nodded. "Oh…sorry about that everyone. I just didn't really have much to tell after the ALO story."

"It's okay. Asuna actually made us realize that some of the others who went out while you were telling it didn't hear it, so it'll be something new for them to listen to." Fernsong assured her.

"I guess I didn't think about that." Suguha realized. "What story are you on now?"

"Actually…I just finished my last one for today. I probably shouldn't have woke you up. Sorry about that." Kirito apologized.

"You better be sorry." She responded playfully. "Nobody sleeps around here, right?" She asked, making a circle in the air around her with her forepaw.

"You can sleep wherever. You're our guests in ThunderClan after all." Dovewing assured her.

"That's great news to hear because I think my legs are numb." Kirito said, slowly trying to get up, but then quickly sitting down again. "Yeah, definitely." He then eased into a resting position and let out a sigh. "Well, I guess I should be getting some shuteye. There's a big day ahead tomorrow."

"Right. You three will need to be at your best tomorrow." Lionblaze told them.

"Yeah, especially if you're training with him." Cinderheart said jokingly, causing her mate to blush.

"What? I just want them on…you know, just get some goof rest you three."

"We'll make sure to. Thanks for helping us tomorrow, Lionblaze. The same goes for everyone else here that might help as well. We really appreciate it." Asuna told them. She suddenly heard the sound of soft snoring and looked next to her to see that Kirito already was sleeping. _Why am I not surprised? Anyway, I'm so glad that we found one of the Clans and also that we found one of our old friends here too. Tomorrow we learn how to survive in this world, which sounds a bit frightening at first, but if that's what we need to do to help find what's in the shadows then I'm sure we'll stop at nothing to help protect this Clan and the other three out there._ With that thought in her mind, Asuna snuggled closer to Kirito and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Originally, I was going to include Sinon with the three, but when I typed the intro of this chapter with her in it, I began to forget that she was with the group, and I think three new characters is enough, for now. Also, I am here to announce a new future Warriors series called Warriors Everlasting Miracles Extra Edition.

In this series, the reader can submit ideas for stories revolving around the series, whether it be shippings , or if you wanted to see something in the story played out differently. Anything goes. Even M-Rated ideas will be put into consideration, but there will be a separate place where I post them, so when the series comes into fruition, please start bringing up some awesome ideas.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of this story!~Geasswolf Out


	3. Chapter 2: Fate

Hey everyone and welcome back to the story. This chapter mainly focuses on Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha's first day of training. I hope that you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 2: Fate

 _Kirito walked slowly through_ the forest following Dovewing and Lionblaze, admiring the vast amount of trees and shrubbery. Today Kirito was finally going to learn how to fight as a cat, something he reveled about when he first heard about combat being a priority in this world. He wasn't sure if it was because of all the VRMMORPG's he'd played, but he was already hyped up on his second day in the forest.

"This sure feels nostalgic, doesn't it, Dovewing?" Lionblaze asked her. "We're out here training Kirito, just like we did with Lelouch two years ago."

"Wait, you both trained Lelouch as well? I think I feel kind of special now, well, other than being a part of the prophecy and all."

"Yup, although I don't think Lelouch was as keen on learning how to fight. He knew it was necessary, but yesterday you couldn't wait until you learned." Dovewing said with a giggle.

"Well, all the better then, right? I think I might catch on a bit quicker than he did." He stated. "So, how much longer until we're there?"

"Just through these trees." Lionblaze assured him. They passed the trees and broke through a row of bushes out into the clearing, the meadow of grass in front of them containing a few trees scattered around it. Dovewing let out a breath as she surveyed the area.

"So much happened here two years ago. I can't believe that it's been that long."

"I know, especially for you, Dovewing. I'm sure you have a lot of memories of this place." Lionblaze responded. "Anyway, we should start before Kirito over here complains that we're spending too much time being nostalgic."

"What? C'mon, I know we only met yesterday but I'm not that rude." Kirito said with a small pout, causing Lionblaze to laugh.

"I was only kidding, Kirito. Besides, I'm a bit excited for this myself. I haven't trained a cat in forever." He told him. "Okay, well this first move is the Forepaw Slash. Pretty much just swipe a paw forward with as much power as you can."

"So like this?" Kirito demonstrated the Forepaw Slash with ease. "Seems a bit too simple."

"Well it is one of the basic moves." Dovewing told him.

"It is, and it is much like the Front Paw Blow, which is pretty much a Forepaw Slash to the head, but your claws are sheathed. A Forepaw Slash is an attack on a cat's body or face with your claws unsheathed."

"Okay, so the Forepaw Slash is more of an injury-type move, while the Front Paw Blow is used to stun, right?" Lionblaze nodded his head.

"Correct, but also…" Lionblaze leaped out towards Kirito, pinning him to the ground. Dovewing let out a small gasp of surprise, but then let out a small smile, remembering that this was almost exactly like how Lelouch's training went, and some of hers when she was an apprentice, for that matter. "…you can get pinned to the ground by an opponent, which does happen a lot."

"Maybe you can warn me next time at least?" Kirito asked.

"You won't get a warning when in the heat of battle. I'm sure you know that from all your adventures."

"I guess you're right. So what do I do when I'm like this? I can try to shake you off, or I can kick you with my hindlegs." Kirito said, pushing his hindlegs softly into Lionblaze's stomach.

"Both are correct answers, actually. You can also play dead by going limp, but if you don't have any severe wounds, I wouldn't recommend this. Instead, if you can get your paws free, immediately unsheathe your claws and go for a Belly Rake to get the cat off of you."

"Right. Um…you don't still need to have me pinned, right?"

"No, but why don't you try to get me off?" Kirito nodded and this time, he focused his strength in his hindlegs to kick Lionblaze off of him, the golden tom almost losing his footing on the grass. "Excellent. You could really benefit from using the Back Kick if your hindlegs are that strong."

"I assume it's just a kick with my back legs while I'm up?" Kirito said, and Lionblaze nodded.

"Right. You weren't wrong when you said you thought you'd catch on quicker than Lelouch. This all feels like it's second nature to you." Kirito smiled at the warrior's praise. "Now, let's move on to the Half-Turn Belly Rake. With this one, you roll under your opponent and scratch at their belly and then roll back up on all fours. Think you can do it?"

"No sweat." Kirito took a few pawsteps back before running a short distance and then rolling on the ground, swiping up at the invisible enemy and then slowly got back up. "I might need to still practice getting off the ground. I don't think I'm used to it just as much."

"Well you are training after all. Other than that your speed is amazing, Kirito." Dovewing told him.

"Dovewing's right. I don't remember seeing a cat that fast. Who knows how swift you'll be in a real battle situation." Lionblaze added.

"Thanks you two, but actually, you'll see one a bit faster if you watch Asuna run. You won't find a more agile cat anywhere else."

"Really? Well there's something to look forward to." Lionblaze said.

"You know Kirito's her boyfriend, right?" Dovewing told the golden warrior, a strong blush on his face.

"What?! Of course I know that!" The pale gray warrior let out a small laugh and Lionblaze let out a sigh from her joke. "Why don't you just practice rolling and getting back on your paws, Kirito? I'm sure you have attacking with your paws down." The black tom nodded and began practicing to conquer his first obstacle in training. "That also is a defensive move called the Duck and Twist, so it really is important for you to get it down right." Kirito practiced the maneuver for a few minutes until he felt like he learned it, and Lionblaze gave him a nod at his progress.

"Glad I finally got that down." Kirito said with a sigh of a relief. "What other moves are there?"

"A bit more. Remember that along with your claws, your fangs can also inflict some serious damage. Usage of your teeth is known as a Teeth Grip, and what's good about that combat move is that your paws are free still, so you can inflict some damage with them as well." Lionblaze explained. "There is one warning about using your teeth though. Biting at the back of your opponent's neck is known as a Death Blow, which should only be used as a last resort, understand?"

"Crystal clear."

"Good. Now, I didn't teach Lelouch this one because it's not used often, but since you're so eager to learn about fighting, I think you might be interested."

"Are you talking about the Jump and Pin?" Dovewing asked, Lionblaze nodding his head. "I think Kirito might be capable."

"What's so hard about it?" Kirito wondered.

"Well, you climb up a tree and leap backwards towards your opponent, pinning or knocking them to the ground."

"Can I try it?"

"Sure, but it's not exactly a necessary move to learn. More like, if you know it, it's a bonus move at your disposal." Lionblaze told him. Kirito looked over at a nearby tree and dashed towards it. Once he reached the base of it, he began climbing, but fell to the grass below.

"Ow…" He got up and shook the dirt and grass off of his body. "Maybe I should learn how to climb a bit first." Kirito unsheathed his claws and stuck them lightly into the bark so he could stick his paw out with ease. He did the same with his hindpaws and made it a bit higher up before he fell down, but this time he landed on his paws.

"You'll get better at it someday. Why don't we get to your final part of fighting today?" Lionblaze told him.

"Final part? What is it?" Lionblaze looked over at Dovewing.

"Ready to make another memory of this place?"

"Wait…what?!" The she-cat exclaimed in shock from his statement.

"You and Kirito are going to have a practice fight, just like you did with Lelouch back then. If I recall, you were as surprised then too." Lionblaze said with a laugh.

"Because it caught me off guard again like last time too!" She retorted, a small blush on her face. "But I guess we need to prepare Kirito for the prophecy after all." Dovewing moved so that she was fox-lengths away from the black tom, the two cats' eyes connecting. "I won't go easy on you, Kirito." She warned him.

"Give me everything you've got, Dovewing." He replied with a confident smile. The two stood off, but then Dovewing shook her head, looking over at Lionblaze.

"Wait, you're not invincible anymore, so why do I have to fight him?" Lionblaze rolled his eyes.

"Because that's how everything happened with Lelouch two years ago. It's not like Kirito's out to kill you or anything." He responded. "Remember you two: no claws and if you bite, bite softly, okay?" He saw the two nod. "Okay then…start!" Lionblaze watched as the two charged at each other, the golden tom still astounded at Kirito's speed. _Even as a cat he's got running at such a speed down._

Once Dovewing closed the distance between her and Kirito, she swerved right, passing her opponent. Kirito stopped and turned his head to see Dovewing running towards him. She pounced towards him in an effort to pin him, but he quickly sidestepped and gave her a slight slap to her face with his tail. She turned around and looked at him, blushing.

"That's not funny!" Dovewing yelled in anger.

"Are you sure? I thought it was." He responded with a snicker. Kirito noticed that his reaction got her even more irritated and her speed increased as she charged towards him. Again, he sidestepped, but Dovewing anticipated it and turned as well, tackling Kirito to the ground.

"Who's laughing now?" She taunted, pinning the tom. Kirito tried shaking his forepaws, but she had them planted firmly to the ground.

"Y'know, you're cute when you're mad." He replied, watching the fur on her face grow hot. _Gotcha._ Now, Kirito broke free from her grasp and got back to his paws and once he was ready, he ran towards her. Almost mimicking Dovewing, Kirito leaped towards her, but the she-cat rolled down on the ground and used her hindlegs to kick Kirito as he leaped over her, causing him to lose balance and fall on the grass. "Ow…nice move, Dovewing." He commented.

"Had enough yet?" She asked.

"I know we only just met, but one thing you should know is that I don't give up easily." He responded.

"I can tell." Dovewing now ran towards him, but unlike her last two approaches, she focused on her paw strikes and once she was close enough, she swung a paw towards him, causing him to step back. He then retaliated with his own paw strike, making a small leap to close the distance between them and using his right paw to hit her. He saw that it knocked her to the ground and she fell on her side, causing Kirito to look over at her in shock.

"Dovewing!" He ran over to her and looked down at her. "You're not hurt, are you?" Unexpectedly, Kirito felt two hindpaws flip him over and he landed on his back. Dovewing swiftly got up from the ground and walked above his head, pinning his forepaws to the ground. He looked up at her in shock.

"Y'know, you look cute when you're surprised." She let out a cute smile, a blush forming on Kirito's face.

"I guess I let my guard down there. You win, Dovewing." He told her. She then helped him up. "Thanks." Kirito looked at her left cheek. "I didn't hit you too hard, did I?"

"No, it's fine, really. I mean it hurts a bit, but it's nothing."

"Sorry." He apologized, and she gave him a playful shove.

"Hey, we were fighting, weren't we?" Kirito smiled at her response. "How are you feeling? I saw the fall you took when I kicked you with my hindpaws."

"I'm fine. I've been through a lot worse. You can't even imagine." He told her, and she let out a friendly smile.

"Nice fighting you two. It ended exactly like how it did when we trained Lelouch. It even looked as familiar."

"I was trying to recreate what I could remember from it, but Kirito didn't really pin me down like Lelouch did."

"Really?" Out of nowhere, Kirito knocked her down and placed his forepaws over hers. "How's that?"

"Strong. You have a nice hold, Kirito." She told him, unable to wriggle out of his grasp. "Could you let me up now, please?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." He now helped her up, and Lionblaze let out a smile.

"You two seem like really good friends already."

"You two? I'm pretty sure we're good friends too, Lionblaze." Kirito responded and the tom let out a small laugh.

"Right. Anyway, that's good for combat today. We should get back to camp."

"Why don't we take him out hunting for a bit?" Dovewing suggested.

"Well…I thought about it, but I think we should leave that for whatever group he's with tomorrow."

"I guess that's fair. Does that mean we'll be training with Asuna and Suguha tomorrow?" Dovewing wondered.

"If everything goes as planned, yeah. Don't worry though, you won't need to fight if you want to come along tomorrow." Lionblaze assured her.

"Are you just saying that to surprise me tomorrow?" Kirito let out a laugh.

"I think she got you there, Lionblaze."

"What? No, really, I wasn't thinking about that at all! Since those two are out training along with Alderpaw and Sparkpaw and they're going to be both with us, I was going to make them spar against each other." He assured the pale gray she-cat.

"Okay then, I believe you…for now."

"If it makes you feel any safer, why don't you instruct the two while I watch?" Dovewing let out a giggle.

"You know I'm only kidding, but actually, I'd like to if you don't mind." Lionblaze gave her a nod. "Thanks, Lionblaze."

"No problem. C'mon you two, let's get back to camp." The golden tom took the lead, the two other cats following behind.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Remember: keep low and try not to make any noise." Molewhisker whispered as Asuna crept towards a lone mouse. _Okay, no sticks to step on, and there's a few leaves. I think I got it this time._ Once she closed the distance between her and the mouse, Asuna leaped towards it and caught it between her paws, finishing it off with a strong scratch with her claws.

"Nice job, Asuna." Alderpaw told her, looking over at the mouse.

"Thanks, Alderpaw." Asuna let out a warm smile. "See? It took me a bit to finally get a piece of prey."

"Yeah, but you're not originally a cat. I don't think I'll ever catch a piece of prey. Look how easy Sparkpaw does it." Asuna looked over at the dark ginger tom's littermate and saw that she just pounced. In a few seconds, she picked her head up, a thrush hanging from her jaws.

"All cats learn at a different pace, Alderpaw." Nightheart said as she approached her apprentice and Asuna. "I won't give up on you, and neither will Molewhisker."

"Nightheart's right. I know we've been training you for a bit and you may think you're not making progress, but that's not true. You're slowly getting better at hunting."

"Yeah, slowly. I can't even get the basic battle techniques down right." Alderpaw said with a sigh.

"Suguha, that was a nice catch." Lelouch commented as he saw the pale ginger she-cat with a mouse at her paws.

"Why don't we go into the forest away from them so Alderpaw can concentrate a bit more?" Asuna suggested.

"It's worth a shot." Molewhisker said. "Nightheart, do you mind telling the others? I'm sure Lelouch would especially want to know." A blush formed on the black she-cat's face.

"You're right. You three get going. I'll catch up." Nightheart turned away from her group and padded over to where her father and Cherryfall were training Sparkpaw and Suguha. Lelouch saw her and smiled as she approached.

"How's training going?"

"It's pretty good. Asuna finally caught something after a few tries. I saw that Suguha did the same." Nightheart stated.

"Yeah. Sparkpaw's helping her learn as well, so it's like Suguha has three mentors." Lelouch said with a laugh. "I saw that the other three were leaving."

"Oh, yeah. We were going to train Alderpaw somewhere quiet so he could concentrate." His daughter explained. "I just wanted to tell you in case you got worried."

"Right, thanks. Be safe out there, okay?" He gave his daughter a small lick to her forehead.

"Please, father, you have nothing to worry about." She assured him. "We'll see you back at the camp." Nightheart told him before she ran to catch up with the group.

"Where are they going?" Cherryfall asked as she walked over to Lelouch.

"They're training somewhere else. They think it'll help Alderpaw concentrate, which makes sense."

"Right. I hope he gets everything right soon. It doesn't help that Molewhisker yells at him sometimes."

"He just wants Alderpaw to do his best, but I'm sure Nightheart tries to scold him whenever he yells, and with Asuna around, she'll probably scold your brother as well." Cherryfall let out a small laugh.

"I guess that's good for Alderpaw. Those two are really sweet towards him. Do you think that's all he needs?"

"I'm hopeful that it is." They saw Suguha approaching and looked over towards her.

"Sorry! I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Lelouch shook his head.

"Not at all. Did you need something, Suguha?"

"Well, I was just wondering what else we were doing today."

"We're just hunting. Tomorrow you and Asuna are going with Lionblaze and Dovewing to learn fighting skills, at least that's if we're going along with the rotation plan he talked about." Lelouch told her.

"Yup. By the way, you're doing great at hunting, Suguha. You took a bit, but now I think you got it." Cherryfall told her.

"I couldn't have done it without the advice you both gave me…and Sparkpaw helped as well." Suguha said with a small laugh. "Hey, where'd the others go?"

"They went away from us to see if all Alderpaw needs is some concentration."

"Oh. I hope I wasn't being too noisy."

"It's not your fault, Suguha. Alderpaw's just been having a really difficult time lately." Sparkpaw assured her as the apprentice approached from behind with a mouse in her mouth. "So, what now?"

"We're heading back to camp now. Suguha, don't forget about your mouse over there." Lelouch reminded the pale ginger she-cat. Suguha walked over to the tree to pick up her prey and once the four were ready, they made their way back to ThunderClan.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Alderpaw, just focus on one small area of the time when you're scouting for prey. Keep your senses towards there instead of all around you." Molewhisker advised his apprentice.

"He's right. Now just remember everything you've learned about hunting: keep your body and tail low and try to make little to no noise." Nightheart reminded him softly.

"Right." Alderpaw said with a nod. He scanned the area around him carefully until his senses picked up on a mouse near an oak tree, Slowly, Alderpaw began to creep towards his prey, mimicking everything that his mentors had taught him. Right when he was close enough and ready to pounce, the snap of a twig resonated across the forest and the mouse scurried off. Alderpaw looked under his right forepaw and saw a broken twig. He let out a growl of irritation and Nightheart let out a sigh. She looked over at Asuna, who she could see felt sympathetic towards the apprentice. The black she-cat walked over to Alderpaw and placed her tail on his shoulder.

"You almost had it, Alderpaw. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it next time." Alderpaw refused to look at his mentor, nor did he look back at Molewhisker, who he knew was more than frustrated with his performance today.

"Maybe you can try again, Alderpaw." Asuna stated, but Molewhisker shook his head.

"I think that's enough for today. Let's head back to camp you three." Without hesitation, Molewhisker made his way back to ThunderClan, leaving Asuna and Nightheart with Alderpaw.

"What kind of apprentice can't even hunt or fight? Molewhisker must think I'm a failure!" Alderpaw stated shamefully.

"Alderpaw, Molewhisker doesn't think that at all, I'm sure of it. To be honest, I think he's mad at himself." Nightheart told him.

"Why would he? He's not the one missing prey and failing combat training."

"Because he thinks he's the reason that you're failing." Asuna said, and Nightheart nodded.

"Exactly. He's blaming it all on himself."

"But Nightheart, what about you?" The she-cat sighed.

"It hurts seeing you beat yourself up about failing, but I know that you can do it one day, Alderpaw." She gave him a small lick behind the ear.

"But what if I'm meant for something different?" He asked.

"Different?"

"It's just a thought. It's nothing, really." The apprentice stated. "We should get back to camp now. Thanks for the talk, Nightheart. You too, Asuna. I only met you yesterday, and you've been really nice." The cream she-cat let out a smile.

"It's no trouble at all, Alderpaw. I just don't like seeing others sad or distressed."

"That's probably why you were given the prophecy, Asuna. You can easily forge bonds. I'm sure Kirito and Suguha can do the same. Maybe that'll help embracing what's in the shadows." Nightheart stated. "Anyway, let's get going."

When Nightheart, Alderpaw, and Asuna passed through the thorn tunnel and arrived in the camp, Squirrelflight walked over to them.

"Welcome back you three. Asuna, do you mind taking Alderpaw over to get something to eat?" The deputy asked.

"Okay. C'mon Alderpaw." The apprentice followed Asuna to the fresh-kill pile and when they got there, Asuna placed a paw on her head. "I'm so silly." Asuna walked away from the pile and at his paws, she dropped the mouse that she caught today.

"But it's your first catch. I think you should have it, Asuna."

"You mother told me to feed you, and I want to give you this mouse. No complaining now." Alderpaw let out a small smile and looked back over to where Squirrelflight was. He saw Nightheart making her way up to Bramblestar's den and his smile suddenly faded. He looked down at the mouse. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nightheart's going over to speak to my dad. It has to be about me, I know it."

"Hi you two." Sparkpaw walked over to the two cats. "Alderpaw, how'd hunting go?"

"Horribly. I missed another easy catch." He told her.

"Mouse-dung! I know you'll get it someday." She said, taking a bite of her mouse. "Want some of mine?"

"No thanks. Asuna gave me hers. Thanks again, Asuna." The apprentice told her, taking a bite of the mouse.

"Hey, did you know that Molewhisker went over to dad's den when he got here?"

"Alderpaw just said he saw Nightheart going there too." Asuna told her.

"You're not in trouble, are you?"

"I…I hope not." Asuna looked over at Bramblestar's den and saw the leader appear along with Alderpaw's mentors, and Jayfeather and Leafpool. _I hope he's not in trouble. He's really trying hard._ As the five cats stepped down and touched the camp floor, Alderpaw looked over and saw his father motion for him to come over with his tail.

"I'm sure your father just wants to talk to you. I'll keep your mouse safe." Alderpaw gulped before glancing over at the cats and walking over to them. "Sparkpaw, do you want to join Kirito and Suguha with me?" She asked.

"Sure." The two she-cats walked over to where the cousins were sitting, eating their fresh kill.

"Hey you two. What's going on with Alderpaw over there?" Kirito asked.

"He's just having a talk with my dad and the others I guess." Sparkpaw informed them. "So, how was training with Lionblaze and Dovewing today, Kirito?"

"It was great. I learned so much. Hopefully hunting goes as well."

"You sound like you think you're going to fail. Your hunting stat in SAO was almost at max, remember? You know everything about it already." Asuna told him.

"I guess you're right. Sword wielding capabilities don't apply to fighting skills though, although I think I'm already becoming a pretty decent warrior."

"You don't need to brag about it, Kazuto." Suguha told him with a small shove.

"Hey, I'm not trying to. I'm just saying that Lionblaze and Dovewing trained me well." He said. "Oh, and Asuna; make sure to show Lionblaze just how fast you are. I was talking about it and he's really looking forward to it."

"Aw, he's looking forward to you, Asuna." Sparkpaw said, causing the she-cat to blush.

"Sparkpaw!" The apprentice giggled at the flustered she-cat.

"I'm just joking, Asuna. He already has Cinderheart."

"Hey look, Alderpaw's coming over this way." Suguha told them. Once the tom got over to them, he sat down, silent. "Alderpaw, what happened?"

"They told me…that I'm going to become a medicine cat apprentice instead of a warrior."

"Oh Alderpaw, I'm so sorry to hear that. I know being a medicine cat isn't a bad thing, but it was your dream to become a warrior." Asuna told him. "Here's your mouse."

"Thank you." Alderpaw took the mouse and continued eating it.

"But being a medicine cat is important stuff!" Sparkpaw told him, but saw that her brother stayed silent. The others all looked at each other, sorrow in their faces as they felt empathy for the apprentice whose destiny suddenly changed.

"I don't think I'm that hungry anymore. Thanks for the mouse, Asuna." Alderpaw stood up from the group and made his way to the apprentice's den.

"Alderpaw, wait up!" Sparkpaw got up and ran over to join her brother.

"Poor Alderpaw. I can't imagine what it's like training to be something and then being told you're going to be something else." Kirito stated.

"I hope he feels better soon." Suguha added, looking over at the crestfallen apprentice. "Sparkpaw was right about medicine cats being important though. Maybe Alderpaw might have something big ahead of him."

"I'm sure he does." Asuna said. "If not as a warrior, then definitely as a medicine cat, I'm sure of it."

Over in the warriors' den, Lelouch rested on the floor as he groomed himself. Ivypool was out on border patrol, and some of the other warriors in the den were busy chatting with each other. He saw Nightheart enter the den and she walked over to him. She sat down, but Lelouch knew that she wasn't herself.

"Nightheart, is something wrong?" He asked his daughter.

"Father, is there really such thing as fate?"

"Well, I think that it brought me back to ThunderClan to see you, so I guess so. Why do you ask?"

"Because…Molewhisker and I aren't mentors anymore, and neither are you."

"What?" Lelouch was appalled at his daughter's news.

"Bramblestar said that StarClan had decided that Alderpaw should become a medicine cat, and since we became mentors so we could be together, there's no point in Sparkpaw having two mentors anymore." She informed him. "I know he had trouble hunting and fighting, but would StarClan really put him through that much just to tell him that?"

"It's possible, but with all the hardships he's been through it might mean that he'll do an excellent job at being a medicine cat." _He did say that Leafpool was staring at him at the Gathering a few weeks ago, so maybe he's destined to assist with the prophecy._

"Let's hope Jayfeather gives him an easy time." Nightheart said with a giggle. "Oh, Bramblestar also told me to tell you that he's sorry."

"He doesn't have to be. Besides, we still get to spend time with each other, right?"

"I guess you're right." She told him, pressing her head onto his fur. "It was fun while it lasted though. It was a good preview of what to expect when I get my own apprentice. I'll miss training Alderpaw."

"Hey, it's not like we won't see those two around anymore. Plus, I'm sure Alderpaw enjoys seeing you. He really looks up to you as a warrior, Nightheart." A blush covered her face.

"Do you really think so, father?"

"Absolutely."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Night fell above the sky in the forest. Some of ThunderClan's warriors were out for some late night tasks, but for the most part, it was time for them to rest. Like last night, Kirito, Suguha, and Asuna slept close together, regaining their energy for their training tomorrow.

Asuna slowly opened her hazel eyes and saw the beautiful moonlit plain in front of her. She looked around and saw no sign of Kirito, or Suguha, or any ThunderClan cat for that matter.

"Asuna." The cream she-cat turned around to see a ginger flame-colored tabby tom with green eyes standing behind her. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh…well, thank you. I'm sorry, but who are you?" The cream she-cat asked.

"My name's Firestar. I was the past leader of ThunderClan before Bramblestar." Asuna's eyes went wide.

"Wait, you're the Firestar that I heard stories about yesterday?" A small blush covered her face, and she quickly bowed her head. "Sorry! If I knew I would've been a bit more formal in greeting you." The tom let out a small laugh.

"Please, it's okay, Asuna." The tom assured her.

"Wait…if you're here…then…am I dead too?"

"You're not dead, I can assure you. Cats like you usually are welcome in StarClan."

"StarClan?" Asuna tilted her head in confusion.

"Yes, the place where all deceased warriors who've lived an honorable life go when they die. For you, think of it as a dream." Asuna looked around and saw the many cats scattered around the lush dreamscape.

"It's beautiful." Firestar nodded his head. "Are Kirito and Suguha here as well?"

"They aren't, but I'm sure they will be brought here someday." He told her.

"But…why me first? I'm sorry, but I'm just really confused about all of this."

"That's understandable. You've only been in this world for two days so far, but I promise that everything will be explained. Please, follow me." Asuna followed the tom as they made their way towards the clearing where all the other cats were. As they passed by, Asuna noticed that only a few of the cats looked over at her.

"Did they all expect me to come today?"

"No, but every cat here knows who you are. The same goes for Kirito and Suguha. We're all aware that you've been given the prophecy that the medicine cats and Lelouch were given. We were told that you would help in finding what lies in the shadows."

"So, does that mean that there's something more to the prophecy that you're going to tell me?" Asuna wondered.

"Not exactly, but it's more of the path that you must take in this world." He explained. "This tree is familiar to you, isn't it?" A cascade of pink petals flew past the two and Asuna's eyes followed them as they moved in the breeze.

"Cherry blossoms? There's only one tree here. I've never seen any around ThunderClan."

"It was a gift for when Lelouch first came to this world. It's a very soothing addition to StarClan, but it's also where we choose to talk with some cats when we need to discuss things with them." The past ThunderClan leader explained. "Anyway, I digress. The other day you asked Jayfeather about becoming a medicine cat, correct?"

"Yes. He said he didn't mind teaching me about it."

"Right. I'm here to tell you that you are destined to walk down the path of a medicine cat. That is most likely why we're talking right now."

"But, Kirito and I are together. Jayfeather told me that medicine cats can't be in relationships." Asuna tilted her head in confusion.

"Correct. I know this is going to sound like much, but you're also destined to walk down the path of a warrior as well."

"What? Firestar…is it possible for me to do both? Is there any rule against it?"

"It's never been heard of a cat being both, but from what I can see in you, you've done it before."

"Oh…I guess you're talking about my fighting and healing abilities in SAO…but combat and medicine in the forest is way different."

"I understand your concern, but this is your fate, Asuna. Besides, you were interested in learning about medicine, right?" The she-cat nodded. "See? I'm positive that you can learn both. Just take your time and I'm sure that you'll use the abilities you gain when the time is right." He gave her a small lick on the ear, causing the she-cat to jump back a bit, a blush covering her face. "Sorry! As a cat, that's a sign of comfort!" He apologized, the fur on his face suddenly growing hot realizing that she was unaware of his sudden notion.

"Oh…sorry for reacting like that. You do seem like a really kind and noble cat, Firestar. I'm sure all of ThunderClan respects you."

"That's nice of you to say, Asuna. I'm sure all of ThunderClan will appreciate you as well in time. The same goes for Kirito and Suguha." He told her. "Just remember that as a medicine cat, talking with StarClan may be frequent. I won't always be the one to guide you, but know that I'll do my best to inform you and your friends whenever I can. I want to make sure the Clans achieve peace, and StarClan can't do it without you three." Asuna didn't know what to say. In front of her was ThunderClan's most legendary warrior, and although all she heard were stories of his greatness, being able to meet him was an experience she would never forget.

"Okay. Thank you, Firestar. I'll do my best to learn whatever I must to help aid the Clans."

"I'm sure you will." Asuna watched as the ginger tom in front of her slowly began to fade, along with her surroundings, leaving nothing but darkness around her.

Asuna's eyes shot open and she looked around to see that she was now back in the warriors' den. _It really was just a dream._ She looked around to see that every cat around her was still fast asleep. _Maybe I should talk to Jayfeather in the morning. He did say to come talk to him whenever something about the prophecy came up._ Asuna looked out towards the stars in the sky. _If it's fate that decided that I'll learn about combat and medicine, so be it. StarClan is counting on us to make sure the Clans live in harmony. The real journey to find what's in the shadows hasn't begun yet, but I know that we'll be prepared for what's to come._

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Looks like Asuna has an even bigger niche to fill than expected. I went through her skills and stats in SAO and saw that along with her proficiency with swords, she was also a skilled healer, which made me decide to also carry the role as a medicine cat. I'm unsure if I announced this before, but this story will pretty much be The Apprentice's Quest with the added characters, so if you read that, you know how this story will go. I don't want to change it as much, but if an idea arises, who knows? Maybe this story will take a turn. Anyway, I hope that you're enjoying this so far and I hope to see you all in the next chapter. ~Geasswolf Out.


	4. Chapter 3: Destiny's Call

Chapter 3: Destiny's Call

 _"Asuna, hey, wake up."_ Asuna let out a yawn before opening her hazel eyes and rubbing them with a paw. She looked up and saw that Dovewing greeted her with a smile. "Hi! I hope I didn't disturb your sleep that much."

"No, no, it's fine, Dovewing." Asuna assured her as she got on her paws and stretched out her hindlegs and back. She looked around and saw that the cats around her were awake. "Oh no…was I asleep for too long?"

"A bit, but it's okay. You're just getting used to life here, after all. Besides, we have all day to train you and Suguha."

"Right…" Asuna let out a gasp. _How could I almost forget about my dream last night?_ "Thanks for waking me Dovewing! I have to talk to Jayfeather about something!" The cream she-cat darted out of the warriors' den, leaving the gray she-cat and the others in the den confused.

"Jayfeather! Jayfeather!" Asuna called out once she set paw in the medicine cat's den.

"What now? Can't you see that I'm…?" Jayfeather's angered tone suddenly vanished when he realized that Asuna was the cat that barged in. "Asuna…what are you doing here?"

"Sorry for being so loud coming in here, Jayfeather. I just have some really important news to tell you and Leafpool about."

"Well that was fast. What happened, Asuna?" Leafpool asked as she walked over to where her son and Asuna were standing. Asuna saw that Briarlight looked over at her, and Alderpaw did as well, although he sat in the back of the den.

"Last night, I had a dream…and Firestar spoke to me."

"What? Did he tell you anything regarding the prophecy?" Jayfeather wondered.

"No, but he told me that I'm destined to walk down the path of a medicine cat."

"My father told you that?" Leafpool said, shock in her voice.

"Yes. He said that I was walking in StarClan last night because of that." Asuna explained. "He also told me that I was meant to become a warrior as well."

"He told a cat that just arrived in this world that she had to carry two roles? He has to know how ridiculous that request is." Jayfeather stated.

"Are you saying that I can't do it?" Asuna retorted.

"In a way, yeah, I am. There's no way that he can expect you to do both! That's completely mouse-brained!" Jayfeather spat, causing Asuna to flinch.

"I can't believe that you'd say that…" Jayfeather could sense the sadness in her voice and he turned his blind gaze away from her.

"Asuna…I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I'm sorry." He apologized. "It's not that I don't think you can't do it…but I don't want you being stressed out over it all. Having to remember what herbs do, where they grow, and what they smell and look like is a lot to remember."

"I have to try! Jayfeather, please! You were fine with teaching me a bit the other day, but what about now?"

"That was different. I was only going to show you the basic herbs, but now…I'd have to teach you everything." He spoke softly, returning his gaze to hers. "Like I said, I just don't want you stressing out over it along with warrior training."

"Well, we did just start training Alderpaw today, so it shouldn't hurt if we train Asuna along the way." Leafpool suggested. Jayfeather let out a sigh.

"You do raise a good point. Plus, it was something Firestar told her." Asuna cracked a small smile as she realized Jayfeather was finally on board with training her. "Asuna, know that a medicine cat's work is tough. Sure, we have Leafpool and I, but you and Alderpaw can be a huge help if something happens to either one of us. I need you to be diligent and responsible as a medicine cat. I shouldn't be asking this, but can I trust you, Asuna?"

"Yes, Jayfeather. I promise that I'll try my best and make sure to pay attention to everything I learn." She responded with confidence.

"Good. Again…I'm sorry for what I said to you, Asuna." He apologized, but suddenly felt Asuna get closer to him and give him a hug, similar to yesterday. _More hugging? I don't think I'm a fan of this._

"It's okay, you were just worried about me." She broke away from him and let out a smile. "Thank you for this opportunity, Jayfeather, and you too, Leafpool. I won't let you down."

"We know you won't. Now, don't you have combat training with Lionblaze and Dovewing right now?" Leafpool asked with a small laugh.

"Right. I'll see you all later!" Asuna made her way out of the den and Jayfeather looked over at Leafpool.

"Could you go get Bramblestar for me? He needs to know about this."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So let me get this straight: you have to learn how to be a warrior and a medicine cat?" Lionblaze asked Asuna as she and Suguha were practicing the Duck and Twist.

"Yeah. Firestar told me so last night in my dream."

"I can't believe you actually went to StarClan, Asuna. It makes me wonder why Kirito and I are here." Suguha told her after she got back on her paws.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's only because my battle healing and first aid skills in SAO were high." She responded.

"I doubt it. Walking the path of a medicine cat is a huge responsibility, and add being a warrior to that? You must be a really special cat, Asuna." Lionblaze said.

"Lionblaze, can you stop hitting on my pupil?" Dovewing joked, causing the tom to blush.

"I didn't mean it like that!" He said before letting out a sly smile. "It would be rude for me to hit on my brother's love interest."

"W-what?" Asuna stammered, her face flustered. "Jayfeather doesn't like me that way!"

"You sure? He was pretty nice to you yesterday. Sparkpaw did say it was a rare sight." Suguha told her.

"Positive! He yelled at me today, so it's not like I'm a special case to him or anything like that!"

"Calm down, Asuna, I was only kidding." Lionblaze said. "Jayfeather's known for having a temper, so it's something to get used to."

"He did apologize for what he said though. I guess it's just because of the situation I'm in though."

"Well the only one who'll know the answer to that is him." Dovewing told her. "Anyway, let's get back on track. You both seem to understand all the battle moves, so why don't you put them to the test against each other?"

"Okay then." Asuna took a few paces away from Suguha. "Ready?"

"Yup."

"Wait!" Dovewing blurted out. "I forgot to tell you both to not use your claws and if you bite, do so softly."

"I think we know that we're not fighting to kill each other." Suguha responded with a giggle.

"Well then why'd you warn Kirito and I?" The gray she-cat muttered to Lionblaze.

"Because that's how it was two years ago, remember?" He responded. "Okay you two, start!" The two watched as they charged towards each other, Asuna immediately closing the distance between her and Suguha. _Kirito wasn't kidding…she's fast._ Suguha was used to sparring with Asuna in ALO, so she knew her usual attack style. The pale ginger she-cat rolled out of the way, causing Asuna to drift on the grass, almost stumbling. Now Suguha ran towards Asuna and pounced towards her to close the distance. Once she was on top of her, she began to attack her with paw strikes, but Asuna quickly parried each hit with her own forepaws, striking Suguha whenever she saw an opening. Suguha leaped off of her, allowing Asuna to get back up.

Like before, Asuna used her swiftness to run towards Suguha, and when she got close, she leaped into the air, causing Suguha to throw her forepaw forward, but she then realized that Asuna leaped over her. She quickly turned around but was greeted with a blow to her face with Asuna's hindpaw, dazing her for a moment. Asuna then tackled her, pinning Suguha to the ground, but right when she did, Suguha quickly bit into her shoulder and pushed her off. The two she-cats got up and looked at each other.

"This is…way harder than fighting with swords…" Asuna told her.

"Agreed. If only…I could use magic here." Suguha responded, panting for her breath. "Ready?"

"When was I not?" Suguha let out a small grin and ran towards her opponent. She noticed that Asuna just stood in place so she decided to leap over her, much like Asuna did before to her, but this time, she quickly repositioned herself in the air so that she was facing Asuna. The cream she-cat turned around, but was greeted by a blow to her head, causing her to leap back away from her. Asuna rubbed her head with a paw, but as she was, Suguha charged towards her again, causing Asuna to roll out of the way, grass now covering her fur.

"I thought you said you were always ready, Asuna." Suguha teased.

"I did. Now, let's see if you're ready for this." Asuna raised her back before darting towards Suguha at breakneck speed. Once she was close, Asuna didn't hold back and quickly threw her paws at her, Suguha trying to dodge each hit as best as she could. During the middle of the skirmish Asuna even quickly leaped to her side, causing Suguha to turn to dodge from there too, but Asuna's movements were too quick. As a counter maneuver, Suguha stopped trying to evade and instead tackled Asuna to the ground again, this time holding her forepaws down to stop her from attacking. Asuna tried her best to move away, but only her hindpaws flailed as she struggled to get out of her grip. Once she was completely immobile, Suguha brought her head down to Asuna's shoulder and gave her a soft bite, causing her to flinch. Asuna tried to shake her off, but was unable to, until an idea popped in her mind. She tucked her hindpaws below Suguha and kicked her off, causing some of her fur on her shoulder to be torn. Suguha tumbled on the ground, trying to get up from Asuna's sudden aggression. Asuna got to her paws and gave her shoulder a quick lick, looking towards her to see Suguha still trying to get to her paws. _Now's my chance!_ Asuna dashed towards Suguha and as she was getting up, Suguha saw Asuna leap in the air and close in on her. It was too late for her to move and Asuna struck her shoulder with her right forepaw, causing Suguha to roll along the grass. Asuna panted for her breath and then looked over at Suguha, who wasn't moving. "Suguha!" She ran over to her friend's side and saw that she was laughing. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry Asuna, but I had to win someway too." She said with a giggle. "That was a good fight, Asuna. I thought I had you there when I got your shoulder, but I guess not."

"You got a mouthful of my fur though." Asuna said with a laugh before helping Suguha up.

"That was a great fight, you two." Dovewing told them with joy.

"Yeah, especially your speed, Asuna. Kirito told me that you were faster than him, and he wasn't playing." Lionblaze said. "You both were very agile, especially when jumping."

"I think that might come from flying in ALO." Suguha told him. "Well, at least for me I think."

"Maybe you both are capable of the Jump and Pin. Kirito wasn't, but after what we saw, you both might be able to pull it off." Dovewing said.

"How do we do it?"

"You leap towards a tree and bounce off of it, landing on your opponent, or you can climb the tree and then leap backwards and land." Dovewing explained. "Lionblaze, do you mind being their target?"

"Now you're just pushing being their mentor." He told her as he walked over to the front of a nearby tree. "Don't worry you two, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Suguha asked.

"She's right. I mean, you're not exactly invincible anymore." Dovewing added.

"I'm doing this voluntarily, so even if I was invincible, I would still get hurt…which I won't!" He quickly assured the two. "Asuna, why don't you go first?"

"Okay." Asuna ran towards the tree and climbed up for a few seconds before quickly twisting her body in the air so she was now facing forward, landing perfectly on top on the golden tom, whose body was now pressed to the ground. "Lionblaze, you're okay, right?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He assured her. "Do you mind getting off though?"

"Right, sorry!" Asuna quickly moved off of the tom's back.

"Okay Suguha, you're next." Dovewing told the pale ginger she-cat.

"Are you sure you're fine with this, Lionblaze?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's an optional technique, but it could be useful on your adventure." He told her.

"Alrighty then." Suguha began to climb the tree and when she was at a reasonable height, she leaped off towards Lionblaze, landing on his back.

"Okay…maybe two was too much…" He told them. Suguha was quick to get off of him and she helped him up. "Thanks. At least now we can see that these two can do something Kirito can't."

"Well, we did practice climbing a bit yesterday." Asuna admitted.

"That explains a lot." Dovewing said with a small laugh. "Great job today you two. Now you're pretty much set, but we'll put in some fighting practice here and there when we have the chance." She added. "Oh! We should get going so you can start your medicine cat training, Asuna. You don't want Jayfeather yelling at you."

"I don't think he will. He knows that being a warrior and medicine cat's going to be hard for me." She assured her.

"I guess you're right. Anyway, let's go so Lionblaze can rest. I bet his back's killing him right now." The three she-cats shared a laugh while the golden tom followed behind them.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Nice catch, Kirito!" Cherryfall praised the black tom with praise as he carried a mouse in his jaws. "From your form, to how you slowly crept onto it, everything was excellent."

"Thanks. I guess it helps that my searching skill in SAO was maxed out." He told her once he dropped his mouse down to speak.

"What's even more amazing is that Cherryfall didn't even need to teach you!" Sparkpaw stated. "I thought being an apprentice and catching prey on my first try was great, but what you did tops that off!"

"Well what you did is still impressive, Sparkpaw, so don't discredit yourself too much." Kirito replied with a small laugh. "It's actually pretty cool how all those skills in SAO are apparently becoming useful here, although maybe it's just because I'm a cat and have better senses or something."

"Regardless, if you can hunt like that, you'll be a huge help to the Clan." Cherryfall said.

"I hope so. It's the least I can do for letting us stay in ThunderClan." Kirito turned around and saw that there was a thrush looking around. "There's a bird over there. Mind if I try and catch it?" The she-cat shook her head. Kirito dropped into a hunter's crouch and slowly approached the bird. _It doesn't seem to notice me yet. Perfect._ Once he was close enough, Kirito quickly lunged forward, striking the thrust with his forepaw, killing it with one swift strike to the neck. He then carried it with him and dropped it where his mouse was.

"That was even more amazing than your last catch!" Sparkpaw exclaimed. "Are you sure that you're not a warrior, Kirito?"

"Positive. All this just seemed to come natural. I think it helped that fighting yesterday got me a bit more accustomed to how to move as a cat."

"Like Sparkpaw said, it really is amazing that you can accomplish all of that in the span of only two days of training." Cherryfall added. "Anyway, I think we're done for today. Thanks for letting Sparkpaw train a bit before we actually went hunting."

"No problem. I don't want her falling behind in her warrior training." He said before picking up his thrush and mouse. "Okay, let's go." The two she-cats giggled at the tom's muttered voice before they made their way back to ThunderClan.

"I wonder how Alderpaw's doing with Jayfeather today." Sparkpaw thought.

"I'm sure he's doing okay. It'll take more than Jayfeather yelling to stop him." Her mentor responded.

"I just feel bad for him. He wanted to be a warrior, but now he can't. It's like he gave up, even though he didn't want to."

"I understand, but being a medicine cat is a very big responsibility, an honor even. If StarClan wanted him to become one, he must have something good in store."

"Maybe he'll help with the prophecy now! Aw, now I wish I was a medicine cat!" The apprentice pouted.

"I dunno, I think you'd miss being a warrior in a heartbeat." Kirito added, his voice still muffled by his prey.

"Speaking of being a warrior; Sparkpaw, things are going to be different starting tomorrow."

"You mean today too, right? It's the first day Lelouch isn't out here with us, and neither is Molewhisker and Nightheart."

"Oh, right." The warrior said, her voice low. "Anyway, tomorrow we'll start going out along with the hunting patrols and border patrols. Try to behave like you've been doing so far, okay?"

"No promises."

"Sparkpaw…"

"Okay, I'll behave."

"Who knows? Maybe we'll be on patrol with Lelouch, Nightheart, or my brother too, so it might feel like it used to."

"I guess that does sound fun."

"Yup. At this rate, you'll be a warrior in no time."

The three approached the thorn tunnel leading into ThunderClan and made their way through it and into the camp. Kirito broke away from the group and dropped his prey in the fresh kill pile.

"Did you catch both of those on your first time out?" He turned around to see Squirrelflight standing behind him.

"Oh, hey Squirrelflight." He greeted the deputy. "Yeah, I did. Pretty sweet, huh?"

"I'll say. For your first day of hunting, that's quite a catch. I'll have to start putting you on hunting patrols, if you don't mind." Kirito shook his head.

"That would be awesome! I'm sure Asuna, Suguha, and I are at least trained for the basic tasks, so don't hesitate to ask us for help whenever you need to."

"I'll make sure to." She replied with a smile. "Feel free to take something from the pile. The elders, queens, and kits were brought food already."

"Thanks." As Squirrelflight left, Kirito looked over the pile to see what he wanted to eat. _Man, a fish or rabbit would be good right now…or maybe one of Asuna's sandwiches…_

"Have you tried a thrush yet?" Kirito looked up from the pile and saw Nightheart, who greeted him with a smile.

"Hi Nightheart. Actually, I caught this thrush today. Is it any good?"

"Well if you caught it then it should be. Nothing's better than a piece of prey you caught by yourself." She told him. "By the way, Asuna's in the medicine cat's den if you were wondering." Kirito dropped his thrush and looked at Nightheart.

"What happened to her?!"

"Oh, no, no, she's okay, don't worry." Kirito let out a sigh of relief. "Last night, Asuna had a dream and she was told that she had to become a medicine cat and a warrior."

"Really? Is that even possible?"

"It's never been heard of. Don't worry though, you and Asuna can still be together." Nightheart said with a small laugh, causing the tom to blush.

"I guess that's a relief. Thanks for telling me, Nightheart."

"It's my pleasure. I thought you'd want to know, and I was kind of hungry."

"Take that mouse over there." Kirito pointed over at it was a claw. "I also caught it today."

"Oh. Well…thank you, Kirito." Nightheart picked the prey up. "I guess I'll see you later." Kirito gave her a nod before the she-cat left to eat her prey. With the thrush in his mouth, Kirito walked over to the medicine cat's den. He walked inside and saw that Jayfeather was explaining herbs to Asuna and Alderpaw.

"Hi Kirito." Leafpool greeted the tom. "Did Asuna tell you the news yet?"

"Nightheart told me when I got back to camp." Kirito told her after he put his thrush down.

"Kirito, do you mind getting that thrush out of here? I don't want the scent lingering with any of the herbs, and we're kind of busy here." Jayfeather told him.

"Oh shoot! Sorry about that Jayfeather! I just wanted to see Asuna and how she was doing." He said. "I should get going then. See you later, Asuna!"

"Bye." Asuna waved her paw as her boyfriend left. "Sorry about that, Jayfeather. I didn't exactly see him yet today."

"It's okay. He didn't know. Now where were we…oh, right here." Jayfeather gave the yellow flowered plant a sniff. "This is goldenrod. It's good for cleaning wounds. Over here is watermint. It helps with bellyaches." He explained. "Alderpaw are you getting this?"

"Yeah. Do you mind if I take a sniff of it?" The medicine cat shook his head.

"You should take a sniff of it too, Asuna." Jayfeather told her. The cream she-cat sniffed the plant. _It smells like a weaker version of mint._ She thought as she brought her head away from it. "Finished?"

"Yes, Jayfeather."

"Good. Now this one right here is yarrow. It induces vomiting in case a cat has swallowed poison, and it's also an ointment for cracked pads."

"How do we get them crushed to that state? Do you use some sort of rock?" Asuna asked.

"Well, no. We chew any herbs that need to be directly applied, so get ready for some unpleasant tastes when the time comes." Asuna noticed the tom crack a small smile. "Anyway, let's continue."

Jayfeather explained to the two cats the functions of the rest of the herbs for about ten more minutes, Leafpool helping as well. The brambles leading to the den were suddenly broken through and they saw it was Sparkpaw.

"We're busy right now, so this better be good." Jayfeather told her.

"Cherryfall sent me to tell you that Purdy has a bellyache. I'm here to pick up whatever cures it." Jayfeather looked back at Alderpaw.

"Alderpaw, what do we need to give Purdy?" The apprentice looked around, forgetting what the answer was.

"It's watermint." Asuna whispered over to him.

"Oh, um…watermint." Alderpaw answered.

"Good. Now find it in the storage." Alderpaw looked around for it, but as he did he could tell that Jayfeather was impatient waiting for him to bring it. He grabbed a yellow flower and gave it over to him.

"This is goldenrod. It's used for wounds, remember?" Jayfeather scolded him. "Asuna, go get some watermint, please." Asuna now looked into the storage and came back with a green plant. Jayfeather gave it a sniff. "This is catmint. Purdy has a bellyache, not greencough!"

"Oh…Sorry Jayfeather." She apologized.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it when lives are at stake, Asuna." He told her, picking out the needed herb from the storage. He then handed it over to Leafpool, who joined Sparkpaw in going back to the elder's den. Jayfeather let out a sigh. "You two need to pay attention. Cats' lives depend on us doing things right, understand?"

"Yes, Jayfeather." The two cats answered.

"Good. Now go get something to eat." As they were walking, Jayfeather turned his head over to them. "Asuna, stay here." Alderpaw looked over at her.

"I'll be fine." She told him before they parted. She walked over to where Jayfeather was sitting. "Jayfeather, I'm sorry for getting it wrong. This is a lot to take in."

"You got it wrong on purpose, didn't you?" He told her.

"What do you mean?"

"What else does it mean? When you handed over the catmint, I could faintly smell watermint on you. I'm guessing you told Alderpaw the answer too, right?" Asuna looked away from the medicine cat's blind gaze. "I understand that you're feeling sympathy for Alderpaw, but he has to learn. If I know you understand herbs, it'll be a relief for me so I can focus more on him when he needs help."

"I guess I didn't think of it that way." Asuna said.

"It's okay. I understand that you're a really kind and sweet cat, Asuna." Jayfeather told her, a sudden blush covering his face. "I-I meant that in a friendly way!" He quickly stammered, causing her to giggle.

"Thank you, Jayfeather. You know you're not as mean as everyone thinks, either. You're just very committed and care for the safety of others."

"T-thanks, Asuna. It's nice to have a cat that understands me to an extent." He told her. "You should go get something to eat now."

"It's okay. I'm not that hungry. Do you mind if I help Briarlight?"

"Go right ahead." He said with a smile. Asuna was happy that she could bring out that side of a cat everyone referred to as being grumpy most of the time. She walked over to where Briarlight was and saw the she-cat roll a ball of moss over to her.

"You just throw the ball and I try to catch it. It helps me stretch." Briarlight explained. Asuna gave her a nod and began tossing it towards her. She was surprised at how agile the she-cat actually was, especially in the state she was in.

"You're really good at this, Briarlight." Asuna told her after she tossed the ball of moss back at her.

"Well when you have to do this every day, what do you expect?"

"Has she dropped it yet?" Jayfeather wondered.

"Not yet. She's a professional." Asuna told him, and Jayfeather let out a small laugh.

"When Lelouch's here with her she misses it more often." While the moss ball was flying towards her, Briarlight missed it, the cat flustered by the tom's comment.

"No I don't! I miss it the same amount of times!"

"Aw, you like Lelouch, don't you?" Asuna said with a giggle.

"Asuna!" Briarlight threw the ball of moss at the she-cat, hitting her in the face. "Just throw the moss, please?"

"I think I'll go get Lelouch in here. Jayfeather did say you miss catches with him, so he'd be better helping you."

"No! I mean…"

"I'm just kidding, Briarlight. Here." Asuna threw the moss ball towards her. "I can't let you not see him though. He likes helping you, right?" She nodded. "Then I'll tell him to come in from time to time."

"He usually comes in whenever he has the time." Jayfeather told her. "Although asking him might make her even happier." Jayfeather felt the ball of moss hit him, causing Asuna to let out a small laugh. _The medicine cat's den feels like a small family, and I'm glad that I get to be a part of it. Hopefully balancing out my warrior duties and medicine cat duties works well._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Asuna padded through the forest with Leafpool to collect some herbs that were needed. It had been a half-moon ever since Asuna started her medicine cat and warrior training, and luckily it wasn't as difficult as she anticipated. _I can't believe that Kirito, Suguha, and I have been here for two weeks already. We haven't really found what was in the shadows at all yet, but hopefully we set out on that quest soon._

"Asuna, I'm so glad that you're learning so much about being a medicine cat, especially since you're also a warrior." Leafpool told her.

"Thank you, Leafpool. I couldn't have done it without you and Jayfeather teaching me. It's also good that Bramblestar was fine with me just alternating my tasks each day."

"Right, and you've been doing well remembering what herbs are needed to treat certain aliments. My father was right to give you such a task." Asuna blushed at the she-cat's praise. "Now, we're out looking for marigold. Do you remember what it does?"

"It helps stop bleeding and infection, right?" Leafpool nodded.

"Excellent. Do you remember where it's found?"

"Near water, so we should look around the lake or the stream." Asuna answered.

"Very good, Asuna. Let's go find some." Leafpool took the lead and made her way towards the lake. Once they were there, the two looked around and sniffed the air to find marigold.

"Over there." Asuna walked over to a nearby bush and saw a patch of the yellow flower growing. As she went to pick it up, a reflective glow filled her eyes and she stepped back.

"Asuna, are you okay?" Leafpool asked as she walked over to her. The cream she-cat stared at the flowers and suddenly saw a blinking cursor in front of her. It blinked a few more times before forming into the menu screen similar to the one used in SAO. The only menu available to her was her inventory.

"What's going on?" Asuna lifted a paw up and moved it up and down. Despite her inventory being empty, knowing that her paw actually caused it to move was surreal to her. _Why is it appearing all of a sudden?_

"What is that?" Leafpool asked.

"You're seeing it too, right?" The medicine cat nodded. "It never appeared until today. I wonder if Kirito and Suguha have seen it." Asuna saw the x in the corner and pressed it with her paw, closing the menu. "That was strange."

"You're telling me. Is this something you've seen before?"

"Yes. It was back in SAO. It was the menu interface, but I don't know why it appeared." Asuna walked over to pick up one of the marigold flowers and right when she had it in her mouth, the two she-cats watched as it disappeared. Asuna stepped back and she and Leafpool noticed the blinking cursor in front of Asuna's face again. Asuna pressed it and opened the menu, now seeing that her inventory held marigold in it. She hovered a paw over it, causing a picture of marigold to appear, along with how it was used and where to find it. She now pressed on the marigold and the two watched as the flower dropped from in front of Asuna.

"Whoa…that's amazing, to say the least." Leafpool told her in awe.

"I know. It's like a medicine cat's dream." Asuna told her with a small laugh. "I'm still unsure of why it appeared now. This isn't my first time touching or collecting herbs."

"Maybe it's a way to help you balance between your medicine cat and warrior tasks." Leafpool suggested. "It will be a big help if you have to go out to find what's in the shadows. You'll always have medicine in stock."

"It seems like I've trained for nothing now." Asuna said, letting out a sigh. "You're right though, Leafpool, maybe this is meant to help when we find what's in the shadows."

"Yup. Do you mind collecting some more? We'll need to go back and tell the others about this."

"Sure." This time, Asuna placed a paw over the marigold and watched as they disappeared and were now in her inventory. "Okay, let's get going." The two began their walk back to ThunderClan, but on their way they stumbled across the hunting patrol that was out right now.

"Asuna, Leafpool!" They saw Kirito approaching them alongside Nightheart, Ambermoon, and Molewhisker. "What's going on you two?"

"We were going on our way back to camp." Asuna told him. "Kirito, just a few minutes ago I was out picking herbs with Leafpool and…well I guess it's better if I just show you." Asuna swiped a paw down in front of her and the others watched as the menu appeared.

"What in the name of StarClan is that?" Nightheart wondered, looking all around the screen in front of the she-cat.

"Asuna, how'd you do that? I thought it wasn't working when we got here a few weeks ago." Kirito stated.

"I know. I just saw a sudden reflection in my eyes for a second and the next thing I knew, I saw the menu begin to start up. It lets me store herbs without carrying them and it tells me everything about them."

"That sounds pretty cool, Asuna." Ambermoon commented. "It would make it so much easier to help other cats." The others watched as Kirito now tried to move his paw down to open the menu, but to no avail.

"Man, if I could do that I could catch as much prey as I wanted to. It sucks having to limit it to what I can carry." Kirito let out a sigh.

"Well you have to remember that we should only catch prey when needed. Catch too much and it'll end up becoming crowfood." Molewhisker stated.

"The same goes for herbs, Asuna. It's a neat thing to have, but try to only pick when necessary." Leafpool told her.

"Right. Actually, can I see the mouse that you have, Ambermoon?" Asuna asked the she-cat.

"Sure." She dropped it down and Asuna placed a paw over the piece of prey. She waited for a few moments but then moved her paw away.

"I guess it only works on herbs."

"Still Asuna, having that menu is a huge benefit." Kirito told her. "Mind if we head back with you?"

"What kind of question is that?" Asuna told him with a giggle. The hunting patrol joined the two she-cats and headed back to ThunderClan. Once they got back, Leafpool, Kirito and Asuna immediately headed over to the medicine cat's den.

"Did you both not find anything?" Jayfeather asked as he sensed the two cross through the brambles.

"More like, we found something out." Leafpool told him. Asuna opened up her inventory and summoned the marigold at her paws.

"Whoa…Asuna that was amazing!" Alderpaw told her. "How'd you do that?"

"What'd she do?" Jayfeather asked.

"Asuna just made marigold appear out of nowhere!" Briarlight told him.

"Well, I had to still pick it up in the forest, but somehow, the inventory menu that I use in games appeared and it allowed me to store the marigold without carrying it. It also tells me what it's used for as well."

"So all this time you didn't know what they did?" Jayfeather wondered, his tone sounding as if he was suddenly betrayed.

"No, I just found this out today, honest!" She told him, trying not to make the tom worry. "Cherryfall, do you mind if I try something?" She asked the she-cat who was now in the medicine cat's den. The other day, she went over to the Twolegplace with Sparkpaw and Sorrelstripe and ended up stepping on glass, so the medicine cats were helping to mend her wounds, but for now her injuries were almost fully healed.

"Um…sure."

"Thank you. Now, let me look at your injured pawpads." Cherryfall put her paw out and a sudden glow filled Asuna's eyes, just like when she saw the marigold this morning. Unlike last time, however, no menu opened up and instead the interface was only visible to Asuna's eyes. She looked at the injury, and right next to the cut it told Asuna what was needed. "Jayfeather, comfrey root is needed for this injury, right?"

"Well, yes, but before that you should check for infection."

"There's none." She told him before going into the medicine cat storage and looking for the root. Because she only needed to walk a few pawsteps, she didn't bother putting it in her inventory so Asuna walked over to Cherryfall and chewed on the root to make the poultice needed to treat her wound. Once she placed it on, the glow in her eyes disappeared.

"Wait, so you were able to tell what type of injury it was and what was needed for it, along with if it was infected or not?" Jayfeather asked.

"Apparently. It just happened for the first time today."

"Amazing." Jayfeather was speechless at Asuna's sudden skill. "Wait, let me get something out from the storage." Jayfeather looked around and took out a patch of green leaves. "Check what this is." The glow appeared in Asuna's eyes again and she looked at the herb, but where the information about it would appear, a row of three question marks took its place.

"I don't know." Asuna told him, the glow in her hazel eyes disappearing.

"Really? So your power doesn't give you a glossary of herbs." Kirito stated.

"My guess is that it uses the knowledge that she's gained as a medicine cat." Jayfeather answered. "We've never gone through what this herb was at all, so it makes sense that you're unaware of what it is along with its function." The medicine cat then turned over to Kirito. "Have you or Suguha experienced anything like what Asuna is?"

"I haven't, and neither has Suguha." He answered. "Wait, could this be tied with the prophecy?"

"It's possible. Having a power like that could help in the future." Leafpool said.

"Um…I think I might know something." Alderpaw spoke.

"About what? Asuna's power?" Jayfeather said. "Spit it out! What do you know?"

"Well…it's not that I know about her power, but... I think only you four should know about it." Alderpaw said. "It's prophecy-related." Alderpaw urged Jayfeather, Leafpool, Kirito, and Asuna to come out of the medicine cat's den. Once they were outside, Alderpaw continued. "Yesterday at the Moonpool…I had a vision with cats that Sandstorm apparently knew about and she said that they might need help." When he finished, he could see a glow of pride in Leafpool's eyes.

"Wait…does that mean…quest time?" Kirito asked, a smile on his face.

"Calm down, Kirito." Jayfeather told the tom. "We should go talk to Bramblestar about this."

"Right. See, Alderpaw? StarClan has a lot in store for you!" Leafpool added. "Alderpaw, while the two of us talk to Bramblestar, you should tell Suguha and Lelouch about it as well." He nodded and walked over to the warriors' den to fetch the two other cats.

"So, what's going on?" Suguha wondered once she and Lelouch joined up with the others.

"Last night I had a vision of cats that might need our help. Sandstorm knew about them, but I'm not sure how." He explained. "Leafpool and Jayfeather are talking with my dad about it now."

"Let's hope this brings us closer to whatever is in the shadows. We haven't really been given any clues at all." Lelouch stated. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be the hero here and we're just here to help you, Alderpaw."

"Do you really think so?" Alderpaw's eyes beamed at the tom's words, especially since he revered him so much.

"Totally, Alderpaw. If that vision means anything, we'll save the Clans because of you." Kirito added. The group continued talking for a few minutes until Alderpaw saw Jayfeather and Leafpool walk out of Bramblestar's den. The two medicine cats approached the group and once there, Leafpool looked over at Alderpaw.

"Your father wants to talk with you." She calmly told him.

"O-okay." Alderpaw slowly made his way to the leader's den, awaiting whatever Bramblestar had in store for him.

"So, what did Bramblestar say?" Suguha wondered.

"Well, he believes that Alderpaw's vision does mean that there's a quest involved. How he knows I'm not sure." Jayfeather informed them. "However, after talking, Leafpool and I began to agree with what he was saying." Leafpool nodded.

"So it's official then? We're going on a quest?" Kirito asked, and Leafpool nodded. "Yes!"

"Kirito, you have to remember that this whole thing isn't a game. StarClan sent Alderpaw this message and that means that this is of utmost importance." Leafpool warned the tom.

"Right, sorry. I'm just a bit excited."

"Maybe a bit _too_ excited." Suguha told him with a giggle. "Let's hope that we find what we're looking for."

"You're bound to find something. I'm sure StarClan wouldn't just lead you on a quest for no reason." Jayfeather assured her. "Come to think of it, maybe this is why Asuna was given her medicine cat scanning and inventory ability."

"But that means that this quest could be dangerous too." Leafpool added. "Make sure to stay on guard at all times you four."

"We will. With all the training we've gotten, I'd say we're already prepared." Kirito said.

"Don't worry, Leafpool. I'll keep them all in check." Lelouch assured her, being the warrior with the most experience out of the group. After a few minutes passed by, Alderpaw walked out of the leader's den with Bramblestar behind him.

"So, Alderpaw, what did you talk about with Bramblestar?" Asuna asked once the apprentice approached.

"Sorry, but we have to get going." Bramblestar told her once he approached. "You all stay here for now. I'll tell you all you need to know later." The two proceeded to walk towards the elder's den and they watched as the elders all walked out except for Sandstorm.

"I wonder what all that's about." Lelouch said before walking over to Graystripe. "Graystripe, what happened?"

"Bramblestar wanted to talk privately with Sandstorm about something." He replied. "Whatever it is, I just hope it's nothing that'll put ThunderClan in danger."

"I'm sure it's nothing like that." The black tom assured him. "Thanks for telling me though."

"No problem." Lelouch now walked back over to the group and saw that Squirrelflight was now amongst them. "Oh, hi Squirrelflight. I'm guessing you're here to talk with us about Alderpaw?"

"Actually, Leafpool just told me about him. I'm a bit appalled that Bramblestar didn't tell me yet."

"Maybe he thought you were busy. You are the deputy after all." Asuna said.

"I guess you're right. I did just send out a hunting patrol." Out of nowhere, they heard Sandstorm yelling in the elder's den. "What's wrong with mother?"

"She's talking with Bramblestar. Maybe you should go check it out." Leafpool told her sister.

"Right. I at least should have a say in whatever's going on in there." The deputy left the group and headed over to the elder's den.

"Maybe that wasn't the best idea. My sister gets her attitude from Sandstorm so…let the yelling ensue." The group looked towards the elder's den, waiting for the anticipated argument. From what they were able to hear, they found out that Sandstorm was practically telling Bramblestar to let her join them on the quest, but they were all unsure why. They waited for another private conversation to finish until they saw the four cats leave the den. Bramblestar and Squirrelflight made their way up to the Highledge while Alderpaw and Sandstorm sat together near the area.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" The leader called out, prompting all the cats filling that criteria to join around the area. "Cats of ThunderClan, Alderpaw has been given a vision regarding the prophecy from StarClan." He began. "He must find the place he found in his dream because we believe that it'll help 'clear the sky'. Because Sandstorm has knowledge about what Alderpaw saw, she will accompany him."

"Sandstorm? She's an elder! She deserves to rest." Whitewing called out.

"Believe me, I'm aware. She was going to claw my face off if I refused." He told her, feeling a bit embarrassed by his announcement.

"But what about Alderpaw? He's too young to take on something like this." Thornclaw stated.

"I'm aware, but since he was given the vision, this is his journey to go on. Besides, he's not going at it alone. Lelouch, Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha will join these two on their quest to bring peace to the Clans. They were brought here by the prophecy, so this must be their first pawsteps in aiding us all."

"Can I come too?" Sparkpaw asked, running over to where Alderpaw was. "Please?" Bramblestar looked down at his two children and then back at Squirrelflight, worry filling her green gaze. The two spoke for a while and once they finished, Bramblestar looked down at the two.

"Very well. I'll let Sparkpaw tag along with you." He answered. "And in that case, Molewhisker, Cherryfall, and Nightheart will go along with you as well. I'm aware that Kirito, Suguha, and Asuna have been given proper training, but in the case of some sort of emergency, I'm sure these three can help. They were your mentors after all."

"This is amazing! Thanks, dad!" Sparkpaw told him.

"I'm just trying to keep the Clans safe. You all will leave tomorrow at dawn." With that, Bramblestar stepped down from the Highledge, leaving the Clan to talk amongst each other.

"Someone must be a happy father." Suguha said with a giggle, causing a blush to form on Lelouch's face.

"Well…why wouldn't I be?"

"Speaking of which, here she comes." Kirito stated, waving a paw as Nightheart approached them, Ivypool padding alongside her. "Welcome to the team, Nightheart."

"Thanks, Kirito. I'm glad Bramblestar chose me to help you all on this quest. It's an honor, really."

"Right…" Ivypool said, sounding discouraged from it all.

"Mother, are you not happy for me?" Nightheart asked her, and Ivypool quickly shook her head.

"No, it's not that at all! Of course I'm proud of you!" She gave her a lick to the forehead. "It's just that…having you both leave…worries me. I can't bear the thought of losing you both to this journey, wherever it takes you."

"Ivypool, we'll both be safe. If anything horrific happens to us, no matter what, I promise that I'll do whatever I can to make you see Nightheart again."

"But…what about you? We're finally a family again and you're saying that you might not come back?" Lelouch shook his head.

"I'm only saying that if the circumstances arise, I'll protect Nightheart at all costs."

"O-okay…" Ivypool pressed her head into her mate's black coat.

"Suguha…are you crying?" Kirito asked, looking over at his cousin, who was wiping her eyes with a paw.

"No, it's just that…how can you not cry at a love as strong as that?" She responded. "Look, even Nightheart's crying!"

"What? N-no, I'm just…I like seeing father and mother happy like this." She replied, her violet eyes glistening.

"See? You're creating a scene." Lelouch whispered over to Ivypool. "Okay, how about I rephrase what I said and promise that we'll both come back to see you? Is that better?"

"Very." She told him with a smile.

"Hey guys, we didn't want to interrupt whatever family moment was going on." Molewhisker stated once he, Cherryfall, Sparkpaw, Alderpaw, and Sandstorm joined the group.

"It's okay. I should probably let you all finish talking about this whole journey. I'll see you both later, okay?" Ivypool told her mate and daughter.

"Bye, mother." Nightheart received a small lick from her before Ivypool left back to the warriors' den. "Sorry about that everyone. Anyway, it's nice to see that we'll all be working together."

"Yup. I'm sure with all of us, this quest can't possibly be hard!" Sparkpaw said with pride.

"Sparkpaw, I know you don't like me telling you this, but please try to keep calm and listen to everything we tell you on this journey. We just want you to be safe." Cherryfall told her apprentice, who nodded her head, but she wasn't convinced.

"Hey Sandstorm, since we're all working together, can you tell us what you know about the cats in Alderpaw's dream?" Kirito asked her, but she shook her head.

"Sorry, but what I know really is a secret that I can't speak of." She responded.

"Well, I guess if it made you eager to join us then it must be helpful." The tom replied. "So, who's going to be our leader?"

"Kirito!" Asuna gave the tom a shove. "This is Alderpaw's quest, so he's the leader. We're just here to help." Asuna flashed a small smile towards the apprentice.

"Right. Sorry about that, Alderpaw." He apologized.

"It's okay. Even I'm in disbelief still that I was put on this quest by StarClan." The apprentice responded. "So…I guess that we're heading out at dawn tomorrow. I'm sure with all of you by my side, there's no way we'll come back empty pawed."

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. In case some of you have already read the Apprentice's Quest, you may have noticed that I skipped some scenes in the book only as a way to progress to the main point of the story quicker. I wanted to get to the questing already xD. Anyway, that's coming up next chapter, so I hope that you stick around on this journey. Not really getting any feedback on this, but that's okay since maybe there are still people out there that may like this...and it gives me a way for me to read it while I'm on-the-go. See you all in the next chapter. ~Geasswolf Out.


	5. Chapter 4 The Quest Begins

Chapter 4: The Quest Begins

 _"_ _Kirito, Kirito, wake up!"_ The tom slowly opened his eyes to see Sparkpaw at his side. "Did you forget about getting up at dawn? You and Alderpaw sure are something."

"Sorry about that, Sparkpaw." He let out a yawn. "Thanks for the wake-up call. Hey, where's everyone else?" He asked, looking around the empty den.

"They're all awake. Jayfeather said he wanted us over in the medicine cat's den. Follow me." Kirito rose to his paws and stretched before following the orange tabby. Once they were in the den, Leafpool dropped a pile of herbs in front of the two.

"Um…what exactly is all of this?"

"Traveling herbs." Jayfeather told him. "Sorrel will keep you from getting thirsty, daisy will keep your joints strong, chamomile will ease tiredness, and burnet for strength." He said after he sniffed each one.

"You better just get it over with. They're disgusting." Sparkpaw told him, the she-cat consuming the herbs as Jayfeather was explaining them.

"Yes, but they'll help you on your journey." Leafpool replied. Kirito moved his face towards the herbs and quickly ate them. He shook his body a bit, causing Leafpool to giggle.

"You weren't kidding, Sparkpaw." Kirito said. "Hey, where are the others?"

"They're outside near the thorn tunnel." Asuna told him as she looked through the herbs. If you two took your herbs already, you should go join them."

"Okay. C'mon Sparkpaw." Kirito took the lead and the apprentice followed him through the brambles.

"Well, I guess that's everyone." Asuna said. "Are you both sure that I can take some of your supplies with me?"

"Of course. Your power was given to you for just that. Besides, I don't think we'll be in any danger around here." Leafpool told her.

"She's right. Here. You didn't take your traveling herbs yet." Jayfeather told her, placing the leaf filled with them in front of her.

"Sorry. I just wanted to make sure that everyone else took some before I did." Asuna licked up the herbs and could understand the disgusted faces of the others who needed to take them. "Well, I guess I should get going now." Before Asuna could move, she felt Jayfeather's paws around her.

"Is…this uncomfortable for you?" He asked her, a huge blush on his face.

"No, it just took me by surprise." She admitted, the she-cat's face feeling hot.

"I just wanted to tell you to be safe out there. You're the one who hugs a lot…so I thought this would be…appropriate…I guess."

"It's okay. I promise that I'll be back to learn more, and so will Alderpaw." Jayfeather broke away from the hug and turned his blind gaze away from her. Asuna then walked over to Leafpool and gave the she-cat a hug.

"Make sure that everyone comes back safely, okay? Both you and Alderpaw are responsible for their health." Leafpool told her.

"I know. We'll do our best with everything you've taught us." Leafpool gave her one final lick behind her ear before she padded over to Briarlight.

"Bye Asuna. You and Alderpaw come back soon, okay?"

"Aren't you forgetting a name there?" Asuna told her with a giggle, causing her to blush.

"I told him already, remember?" She responded.

"Oh right. Sorry about that." The two she-cats shared a quick hug and once Asuna broke away, she made her way towards the exit, saying bye one more time before she left to join the others at the thorn tunnel leading outside of the camp. "Hi everyone. Sorry for keeping you all up."

"We're in no rush, Asuna." Sandstorm assured her. "Is everyone ready to go now?"

"Wait!" The group turned around to see Squirrelflight running over to them. Once she saw her two children, she made her way over to them. She looked at them and let out a breath. "You both better not get killed out there. I want to hear all about it from you both."

"Don't worry mom, I'll take care of Alderpaw here." Sparkpaw assured her.

"We'll make sure to especially take care of these two, Squirrelflight." Asuna added.

"Yup. We'll also make sure to tell you if they get into any trouble." Suguha said with a laugh.

"Great, as if having one mom wasn't enough. Now we have two!" Squirrelflight let out a smile at her daughter's little outburst.

"Okay then. You all should get going. Good luck, and I hope to see you all back here in one piece." The rest of the warriors in ThunderClan wished the group a safe travel as well and afterwards, the group's journey led by Alderpaw began.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The group emerged from the forest and reached the stream that flowed between ThunderClan and WindClan. They didn't see any WindClan cats in sight, which was a relief because they didn't want rumors to spread about their journey, let alone about Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha.

"Wait, so if WindClan territory's that way, how exactly does that help us in staying conspicuous?" Kirito asked.

"We'll leave that to luck." Molewhisker responded. "Alderpaw, pick up the pace a bit. We don't want any WindClan cats catching us."

"Right. Sorry Molewhisker!" The medicine cat apprentice took the lead of the group and Sandstorm joined him in front of the others as they walked along the pebbled surface of the lakeshore. Lelouch walked alongside Molewhisker, Sparkpaw, Cherryfall, and Suguha, while Asuna, Kirito, and Nightheart followed behind them.

"Do you smell that, Kirito? That's WindClan." Nightheart told the tom.

"So that's what I've been smelling while going hunting close by here. It's pretty cool how each Clan has a specific scent. I'm guessing that's ShadowClan that I've scented sometimes when we go out hunting to the west?"

"Yeah. It's a relief that we've never encountered any of them though. If the other Clans found out about you three, there could be trouble."

"Why's that? If we're helping the Clans as a whole, why is it an issue?" Asuna wondered.

"Because the other Clans like seeing ThunderClan as StarClan's favored Clan. Knowing that we were brought three more cats who know about the prophecy would make them feel left out, especially since my father knows about it as well."

"Why can't you all just get along?"

"It's not that easy." Molewhisker stated, slowing down to join the three. "We're given separate territory to thrive in and survive. It's always been like that, and none of us want it to change. It makes us who we are, in a way."

"Right. It's not that we don't get along, but when one Clan does something against the warrior code, we have to keep our guard up." Nightheart added. "It's kind of sounds hypocritical since we're crossing WindClan territory without their permission, but it's to help the Clans." Up ahead of the four, the other cats were talking with each other as well.

"So, I guess none of you have been this way before?" Suguha asked.

"I've been partially through WindClan, but that was a long time ago." Lelouch answered. "I went to look for Ivypool during the battle with the Dark Forest. You've been told the story, right Suguha?"

"I think Graystripe and some of the other elders told me it while I was helping them." The light ginger she-cat responded. "I never heard the part about you looking for Ivypool though. It sounds like something you'd do, Lelouch." The tom let out a small laugh.

"Thanks, Suguha. That night was actually when I realized me and her could work something out."

"And something good came from it all." Suguha looked back over at Nightheart.

"Definitely." Lelouch said with a smile. "Anyway, how about you two? Did you explore WindClan after I stopped mentoring you, Sparkpaw?"

"I wish, but you know Cherryfall." She said with a sigh.

"Hey, let's not forget that it was my dumb idea to go look for those cats we saw during the Great Storm. That's the last time I try to think of any idea to get you to be happy with me." Cherryfall told her.

"Is that really why you did that, Cherryfall?" Her apprentice asked.

"Well…not exactly, but I was happy to see you actually excited for something I said for once. Usually you're always mad at me scolding you."

"Wow…I didn't think of it that way…"

"It's not your fault, Sparkpaw. Like I said, it was my idea. I can't really stop you from acting as yourself." She said, looking over at her injured leg.

"How's it feeling? Is it healed up enough for this journey?" Lelouch asked her, and she nodded.

"It's just a scratch at this point. Asuna's last application of medicine yesterday was enough." She responded. "Speaking of Asuna, Suguha, what do you think your special power will be when the time comes?"

"Me? I'm not really sure. In ALO I was proficient in magic, so maybe that'll be helpful along the way."

"What kind?" Lelouch wondered.

"Oh, well…mostly wind attribute magic, but I could help my allies too."

"Then what are you doing in ThunderClan? We should just leave you here." Sparkpaw joked.

The group reached the end of WindClan's territory and Alderpaw stopped. He looked back at the others, and then over at Sandstorm.

"You should lead from here. You know the way." He told her.

"Okay. We just need to climb this ridge." She told them, now taking the lead. The others followed her up the ridge and past a few Twoleg dens near the Horseplace.

"Hey look, horses!" Sparkpaw said, looking at the animals that were fenced.

"Never before did I think I'd ever see a horse look that big." Kirito remarked.

"It must seem shocking since you're not a Twoleg anymore, huh?" Nightheart stated with a giggle.

"Come on, we need to keep going everyone." Sandstorm told them as they reached the top of the hill, looking at the vast land in front of him.

"So, I guess this is where all the people live. At least it's far away from ThunderClan." Asuna said.

"Yes, but now we're going into their territory. The place we're looking for is much farther." Sandstorm replied. "Follow me everyone. I'd like to cross the Thunderpath today."

"Thunderpath? You mean the road?" Kirito said as the group walked down the hill.

"Remember, you three have different terminology than us." Cherryfall told him. "Actually, it's nice to learn how Twolegs refer to things."

"I agree. It's really interesting." Nightheart said. As the group walked closer to the Thunderpath, they reached a stretch of trees. Sandstorm suddenly stopped and looked through a row of bushes.

"There are Twolegs over there?"

"That means humans are nearby." Lelouch told the other three not from this world.

"That's a funny way to address them." Kirito stated.

"Can we look at them?" Sparkpaw asked.

"It would be good for you to see them, but make sure that they don't see you or else this quest is ruined." Sandstorm told her. Sparkpaw looked out of the brambles and Alderpaw did the same. Once they finished looking, Sparkpaw looked over at Sandstorm.

"What's the shiny thing under a tree?"

"That's a monster. It'll kill you with its big black paws, but luckily it's off now." She told them.

"Monster?" Kirito now looked through the brambles over at the Twolegs. "Oh, you're talking about the car over there." He said once he moved away from the bushes. "It's asleep because there's nobody in it right now. Once those people over there go inside, they'll turn it on."

"So, is it going to come for us then once the Twolegs go in?" Sparkpaw asked.

"Well, they only go on roads…err….Thunderpaths, so we're safe where we are."

"What about that log they were sitting on?" Alderpaw asked.

"Those are chairs. It looks like their having a meal or something." Suddenly, they heard the scream of one of the smaller Twolegs and it came running in their direction.

"Great job, genius, you made the kid spot us!" Suguha told his cousin, shoving him with a paw.

"Everyone hide!" Sandstorm commanded. Each cat looked around for a hiding spot. Kirito darted towards a nearby bush and heard the sound of another cat join him.

"Sorry, I couldn't find another place to hide." Nightheart apologized as she moved closer to the tom.

"It's fine. What matters is that they don't catch us." He responded.

"So, that was a 'kid' running towards us?"

"Yup. That's what you call a younger Twoleg."

"Oh, so like a kit? I guess there is just a one letter difference."

"Yup. Kids are usually interested in cats and dogs, or any animal they see in the wild for that matter." He informed her. They heard the sound of the older Twoleg's voice, but once they heard it fade away, Kirito peaked out of the bush. "Okay, I think the coast is clear." Kirito walked out and saw that Alderpaw and Sparkpaw were looking through the brambles at the Twolegs again. "Didn't you two learn from what I did?" He asked once he was behind them.

"Look Kirito, they're leaving." Sparkpaw sniffed the air. "And there's food over there!"

"What's going on now?" Molewhisker wondered as he approached the group along with the rest of the others.

"The Twolegs left their food over there. I guess they're going to eat it later."

"Let me see. Last time, Kirito almost got us caught." Suguha stated before looking through the bush. "That's a trash can. They're not coming back for it. They put whatever they didn't eat in there…and eating it sounds really nasty." They all heard the sound of the monster roaring and watched as it began to move away.

"So…the Twolegs didn't just get eaten? They're riding in the monster?" Cherryfall asked.

"Yup." Kirito answered with a nod.

"Twolegs are strange, and so are their monsters too." Asuna let out a small cough and a blush formed on Molewhisker's face. "N-no offense, you four. A-anyway, their food is just there, and it'd be mouse-brained to waste any of it."

"Yeah…but it's in the trash…which is almost like eating crowfood." Lelouch said, disgust in his voice.

"But…it does smell good…and that's coming from me." Asuna responded. "It might just be that we're cats that it seems okay."

"But…we're still warriors. We shouldn't be eating kittypet food." Sandstorm stated.

"It's technically Twoleg food, though." Cherryfall retorted.

"Okay…but let's not all go out there at once."

"I'll go out there." Kirito offered. "Everyone that wants to go, c'mon." Sandstorm, Suguha, Asuna, and Lelouch stayed behind and they watched as the others approached the trash can. "So…any ideas on how we get what's in there?" Cherryfall tried climbing up, but fell right when she almost reached the top of it.

"Wait, I got it!" Sparkpaw exclaimed. "Out of the way everyone!" With a running leap, the apprentice landed on the edge of the hole of the trash can.

"Sparkpaw! How are we going to get you if you fall in?" Cherryfall scolded her apprentice.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Watch this." Sparkpaw began moving quickly along one side of the trash can to the other, causing it to wobble. After a few seconds, it finally tipped over, the Twoleg food spilling out. "Ta-da! Kirito, since you're our Twoleg expert, why don't you look inside first?"

"Okay." Kirito approached the opening and walked inside.

"Be careful." Nightheart warned him. They watched as he emerged from the hole with something in his jaws.

"What is it?" Cherryfall asked. Kirito placed the prey on the ground so he could speak.

"Humans call it chicken. Luckily it's still sort of intact. Go get some. There's a lot in there." The other cats looked inside and each grabbed their own piece of the food before walking back to the others.

"Is that…chicken?" Asuna asked as she saw them walk through the brambles.

"Looks like it." Lelouch replied. They all walked over to the others who dropped the prey on the floor.

"Please tell me you won't go scurrying through the trash when we go back home." Asuna told Kirito.

"Of course not!" He said. "I guess you don't want any then?"

"I never said that! These pieces are big enough to us to share one." Asuna grabbed one and walked away from the pile, Kirito following her.

"Father, we can share the one that I got." Nightheart offered. He nodded and the two sat down and ate together.

"Suguha…do you want to share with me? My sister's sharing with Sandstorm, and Cherryfall and Molewhisker are sharing too." Alderpaw told her.

"I'd be honored to share with the quest leader." Alderpaw sat down next to her and dropped the prey down in front of them so they both could eat. The apprentice took the first bite and he then looked at the food in awe. "I'm guessing you like it?"

"It's amazing! You, Asuna, Kirito, and Lelouch must be lucky that you have this."

"Trust me, if you think this is good, then you'll love a lot more Twoleg food." She replied. "Just try not to go out looking for it or anything."

"Let's hope Sparkpaw doesn't. We're not even close and she looks like she's enjoying her time near the Twolegplace."

"I'd say it's just curiosity. I think we'll be able to control her though, and I think she's smart enough to know when she really shouldn't do something."

"I guess you're right. In the end I really just want us all to get back home. I don't care if we don't find what we're looking for, but I do care for our safety." Suguha let out a smile.

"A mindset like that really shows that you're a leader, Alderpaw." A blush formed on the tom's face. "Anyway, let's get eating. The sooner we eat, the sooner our journey will continue."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Moonlight filled the night sky above the forest. The cats had made it to the Thunderpath, but like Sandstorm stated before, she didn't want them crossing at night.

"Maybe we should've been a bit quicker." Nightheart said.

"No, it's okay. This journey is meant to be long, and I much rather have us all safe than risk crossing the Thunderpath right now." Sandstorm replied. "For now we should make camp here and rest."

"Right. Some of us should go out and find materials to make some nests then." Lelouch suggested, but Sandstorm shook her head.

"Those ferns over there should suffice. We'll just be curled up together in them, that is, if none of you mind."

"I'm sure we're comfortable with each other." Molewhisker replied. "Well, at least I am."

"Yup, that sounds fine." Kirito said, letting out a yawn afterwards. "Sorry about that. Sandstorm, you should go in first and get comfortable, then Alderpaw and Sparkpaw can go in next." She nodded and headed in the ferns first, followed by the two apprentices. "Okay, who's up?"

"Why don't you go in? You seem the most tired." Nightheart told him.

"I mean, if no one else wants to, I'd appreciate it." Kirito walked into the ferns and found a spot. Once in there, he watched as the others entered one by one, each resting cat moving closer to make room as another joined in. "It's a bit cramped…but luckily our fur is soft."

"Try not to get my coat messy if you place your head on it, Kirito." Cherryfall told him.

"Well, if you mind, then I won't."

"No, it's okay. We all need to be as comfortable as we can." She told him, resting her head down on Molewhisker's coat. Kirito felt two heads resting on his coat. He knew that one was Asuna, but he looked back to see that Sparkpaw was the other one.

"You're okay with this, right?" She asked, noticing his eyes gazing at her.

"Yeah, it's no problem." He assured her.

"Great, cause your fur is pretty soft." He let out a small laugh at the compliment.

"Goodnight everyone." Asuna told the others, and they each wished each other a good night's rest before they all fell asleep, regaining their strength for tomorrow.

Sunlight broke through the ferns the next morning, waking up Kirito. He rose his head off of Cherryfall and looked back to see that Sparkpaw and Asuna were still fast asleep. Slowly, he tried getting up without disturbing the others, which took a while, but once he was out of the ferns, he stretched out his limbs. He then noticed that Nightheart was sitting on the grass, so he decided to join her. The sound of his pawsteps caused her ears to twitch and she turned around the see the black tom.

"Oh, Kirito. Good morning."

"Good morning. What are you doing out here, Nightheart?" He asked, sitting next to the she-cat.

"Nothing. Just admiring nature, I guess. I didn't want to wake any of the others up, so I'm just out here, waiting for everyone to be awake."

"How long have you been up?"

"I'd say around twenty minutes."

"Of just sitting here? Why don't we both go hunting like usual?"

"But…if the others wake up, won't they get worried?" She asked.

"Not to worry. It's the both of us missing, and we're almost always out on hunting patrol together. I think they'll understand." Nightheart's violet eyes touched his dark gray eyes and she nodded her head with a smile.

"Okay then. Let's go." The two walked together into the nearby trees, hoping to find some fresh kill scurrying around. "I really hope that they don't worry…especially my father."

"Does Lelouch worry about you a lot, Nightheart?" The tom wondered, and she nodded.

"More than you can imagine…but I don't mind. I know he just wants me to be safe. Come to think of it, I'm worried about him worrying too much about me." Kirito let out a laugh.

"I guess he's too good of a father, huh?"

"You could say that, but I don't think he should worry if he figures out that we're hunting. After all, you're here with me, Kirito." A sudden blush formed on Nightheart's face once he looked back at her. "T-that came out wrong! I mean that you're a great fighter and hunter, and so am I, so he shouldn't worry!"

"That's what I thought you meant."

"Oh, okay. I just didn't want this to be weird and make it sound like I was hitting on you." A blush now formed on the tom's face.

"What? N-no, of course not! I mean, I'd be honored since you're Lelouch's daughter, but…" The blush on both their faces intensified. "No! I just mean that…" Kirito let out a sigh. "Let's just forget about this and go hunting."

"R-right. Sorry." For the rest of the time, the two continued walking through the forest, not muttering a word until one of them caught the scent of prey. "There's a squirrel over there. Do you want it?"

"You sensed it, so you can go get it." He told her. Kirito watched Nightheart drop into a hunter's crouch and meticulously inch closer and closer towards her prey. Once she leaped towards it, she grabbed it between her paws and gave it a killing bite to the neck. "Nice!"

"Thanks. Actually, I think I'll bring this one back so someone can have it."

"Great idea. We can hunt for the others. I'm sure they'd appreciate waking up to some fresh-kill." Kirito's ears twitched as he heard the sound of grass rustling. He turned around and saw a mouse scurrying at the base of a nearby tree. Like Nightheart, the tom dropped into a hunter's crouch and slowly crept towards the mouse, making sure that there was no way that it spotted him. When he was close enough, he jumped out with his claws unsheathed, immediately striking the mouse with a swift strike. He picked it up in his mouth and walked over to where Nightheart was. "We'll need more than this to feed the others."

"Then let's get hunting."

For the next thirty minutes, the two roamed around, looking for prey, dropping it off in front of the fern bush when they couldn't carry anymore.

"Okay, I think this should be the last one." Kirito told the she-cat, his voice muffled by the feathers from the blackbird he caught.

"It's a good final catch too. I think they'll enjoy that one a lot." She responded, her voice also altered by the thrush in her jaws.

"Your thrush doesn't look too bad either. Anyway, let's get back to the others." The two walked together and made their way back to the small area where they camped out for the night.

"There you are!" The two watched as Lelouch approached the two. "I'm guessing you and Kirito were the ones who caught this prey, huh?" Nightheart nodded. "We're all thankful for it. You know, you both make a really good team." A blush formed on both cats' faces and Lelouch noticed it. "Hunting is all you did…right?" The two dropped their prey, embarrassment in their faces.

"Father!"

"Y-yeah, that's all we did, I swear! I wouldn't dare do anything without asking! Besides, you know Asuna and I are together!" The violet-eyed tom let out a laugh.

"I'm just messing with you both. Let's go eat now. We have a long journey ahead of us." The two carried their prey over to where the pile was and saw that some of the prey was gone and now between the paws of some of the other cats who were awake eating.

"Thanks for the prey you two." Suguha said before she took another bite of the mouse she had.

"Aw, that blackbird looks really good." Sparkpaw said with a pout as she continued eating her squirrel.

"I told you she'd want it." Nightheart muttered after she dropped her thrush. "Sparkpaw, where's Alderpaw?"

"Oh, he's still asleep along with Asuna and Molewhisker." Cherryfall answered.

"Should we wake them up?"

"Sandstorm says that we should let them sleep."

"Don't worry about them. You both were out catching prey, so you deserve to eat now." Lelouch told them.

"Father, did you eat already?" The black tom shook his head.

"I was waiting for you to come back so we could eat together…if you don't mind."

"Of course not! Sorry for not arriving sooner. Do you want this thrush?"

"I'm fine with the mouse over here." Lelouch picked up his piece from the pile and rested on the grass to eat, Nightheart joining him. "Kirito, you can join us if you want."

"Thanks, but I think I'll keep Suguha company." He said, carrying his prey over to where his cousin was.

"Here, I have an idea." Suguha carried her mouse over so she was sitting next to Nightheart. "Did you want to sit next to her, Kirito?" She asked slyly.

"It's fine, I'll just sit with Lelouch for some guy time."

"Guy…time?" Nightheart said in confusion.

"He means tom time." Suguha explained.

"Oh, okay. So I guess we can have…she-cat time then?"

"Is this new to you, Nightheart?"

"A little bit. I see some of the she-cats talking with each other, but I never knew there was a name for it." She responded. "Should we invite Cherryfall, Sparkpaw and Sandstorm over?"

"Sure. Here, I'll go ask them." Suguha got up and walked over to where the other two she-cats were sitting. "Hi you three. I was wondering if you wanted to join Nightheart and I."

"I think I'll just stay here." Sandstorm replied. "You can join them. I'll be fine."

"Oh, okay then." Cherryfall got up and walked over with Suguha to join Nightheart. "Hi Nightheart."

"Hi Cherryfall and Sparkpaw. Thanks for joining us in she-cat time."

"Thanks for having us." She said with a smile.

"So Suguha…how does this work?"

"Oh…well…I know how it works back in my world, but…being cats, I guess we can talk about toms or something." The two other she-cats looked at each other. "If you don't want to we could just talk normally."

"Please?" Cherryfall begged, causing Suguha to giggle.

"But I wanted to talk about some of them!" Sparkpaw added.

"Well then we'll let you talk, but let's move away from these two first." The small group got up and moved away from the two toms.

"Wow…are they really taking this time thing seriously?" Kirito asked.

"It looks like it. I should thank Suguha though. Nightheart doesn't really socialize much. She's usually working around the Clan."

"Really? Usually when we're out hunting we talk."

"You've both gotten to know each other, so maybe she's more open to you. You're easy to get along with, Kirito." Lelouch told him.

"Thanks, Lelouch."

"I should be thanking you. Sure she's friends with some of the other cats but I think she enjoys your company." The tom began to blush. "I know I was joking before, but…I really think Nightheart likes you, Kirito."

"Do you really think so? I mean, we've been friends for a bit, Lelouch, and I don't want it to seem strange that your daughter likes me."

"Right. She knows that both you and Asuna are together, so she might not admit it, but…it's just a feeling. How do you feel about her?"

"This is…a bit strange knowing that I'm talking to a friend who's also the father of who we're talking about." Kirito admitted.

"Sorry. I shouldn't be getting into this at all, especially with the journey we're on." He apologized.

"No, it's fine. You're her father after all, so I guess it's okay if you're curious." Kirito let out a sigh. "I feel like she's nice company to have around. She's like my competition of sorts when we go hunting."

"That's good to hear. I'm glad you feel that way." Lelouch said with a smile. "Oh, someone just got up." The two looked over at the fern bush and saw Asuna walk out, letting out a yawn.

"What's going on here?" She wondered, seeing the two groups and Sandstorm just sitting by herself.

"Hi Asuna. There's some fresh kill over here for you to have." Sandstorm told her. "The others are just having tom and she-cat time."

"I see…" Asuna picked up a mouse from the pile and walked over to where Kirito and Lelouch were.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Kirito greeted her as she sat down on the grass.

"I hope I didn't oversleep." She said before taking a bite of her mouse.

"You're fine. Sandstorm told us not to wake anyone else up." Lelouch told her.

"Oh…" Asuna looked over at the fern bush and saw Molewhisker and Alderpaw walk out. "I might have woken those two up after seeing we were the only ones sleeping."

"It's okay, you didn't know." Kirito assured her.

"So…" Asuna swallowed the piece of the mouse she had in her mouth. "What's going on with this tom and she-cat time?"

"Kirito was joking about something and it became literal." Lelouch explained. "The others seem to be enjoying it." They heard the she-cats sharing a laugh. "You're free to join them if you want."

"Do you not want me around, Lelouch?" Asuna asked.

"N-no, I was just saying, that's all. I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"I'm just kidding. I would like to stay here with Kirito though." She pressed her head on his fur. "I missed my pillow. Thanks for the mouse, by the way."

"How'd you know I caught it?" He asked.

"When you woke up, I saw that Nightheart was gone before going back to sleep. You both are usually together hunting, so I assumed that one of you caught this mouse."

"Oh…well you're welcome, Asuna."

"Mind if we join you three?" Molewhisker asked as he and Alderpaw approached.

"Not at all. Please, sit." Molewhisker sat next to Asuna, and Alderpaw sat next to Lelouch. "Sorry for waking you both up. I thought that it was the right thing to do so we could continue our journey."

"Don't worry about it, Asuna. I think it's better that we finish this quest as soon as possible." Molewhisker stated.

"How's our leader doing? Did you sleep well?" Kirito asked the apprentice.

"I nearly jumped when Asuna woke me. I saw that you all were missing and felt bad that I wasn't the first awake."

"You may be the leader, but remember that you're young as well, Alderpaw. We should go at whatever pace you feel safe with." Asuna told him. He smiled at her response. No matter what, Asuna was always there to help him or give him advice, and he adored her for that. _Kirito's really lucky to have a she-cat like that._ He thought as he bit into the squirrel in front of him. _Anyway, I want to continue this journey already, so I should get eating._

Once everyone in the group was finished eating their first meal of the day, Sandstorm led them to the end of the forest which met with the Thunderpath. They watched as the monsters, or cars, as Kirito told them about, passed by.

"Okay everyone, only go when I say so, and when you run, make sure to run the fastest you ever have." She told them. They watched as the sounds of the monsters finally became faint. "Go, now!" The group sprinted across the Thunderpath, but Alderpaw froze when he heard the sound of one of the biggest monsters he'd ever seen and then spotted it approaching.

"Alderpaw!" The medicine cat apprentice suddenly felt himself being carried by the scruff and once he broke out of his trance, he looked up and saw that Kirito was the one who picked him up. Once they made it back to the other side of the Thunderpath, Kirito put him down. "You're okay, right?"

"Y-yeah. Thanks for getting me, Kirito." Alderpaw told him.

"It's no problem. I'm just happy to see you're okay."

"We all are, Alderpaw. It's a good thing Kirito was keeping a close eye on you." Sandstorm stated.

"Sorry…I just…guess I got scared." He apologized.

"It's okay. You're young, and seeing a monster like that can really shake up a cat." Nightheart assured him, giving him a comforting lick behind his ear, causing him to blush.

"We should find some cover before other monsters show up and see us." Molewhisker advised.

"Do you need a few seconds to regain your breath?" Suguha asked Alderpaw, but he shook his head.

"No, I'm good. Let's keep going."

The group traveled through the forest for the remainder of the day. The clouds in the sky grew dark in the afternoon and rain slowly poured and soaked the grass below them as they continued, but as the sun began to lower, the rain subsided, leaving a cool breeze in the air. When night struck, they reached a hollow surrounded by holly bushes, and there was a pool of water at the bottom of it.

"Water! Thank StarClan!" Cherryfall chanted as the group walked over to the water, their paws aching from the walking they all did. As they were drinking, Kirito noticed Alderpaw slowly raise his head up and look around.

"Hey, is everything okay?" The black tom asked.

"I know I should've shared this with you all…but I think we're being followed." He replied with a whisper.

"Okay everyone, this is a good place to make camp." Sandstorm announced. "The rest of you hunt, while Alderpaw and I collect bedding."

"Sandstorm, you should stay here. Alderpaw and I will go look for bedding." Kirito assured her.

"And do nothing? I may be an elder, but I don't want to be treated like one all the time." She retorted.

"Kirito's right though. It'd be safer if you stayed here while we go out. I can keep you company if you'd like, just in case." Lelouch suggested.

"There's no use in arguing, but are you sure you won't be worried about your daughter?" Sandstorm asked, but the tom shook his head.

"She has five other cats with her. I'm sure she'll manage." He said with a smile. "You all go out, and come back safe." The others nodded and headed out into the forest, the hunters leaving first, while Kirito and Alderpaw stayed at the entrance to the hollow.

"We're lucky that Lelouch agreed with what I said." Kirito said in relief. "So, you said that you think someone, or something, is following us?"

"Yeah. I noticed it when we were eating that Twoleg food the other day, and a bit more today. I know today could've been the wind, but when we were eating, I heard a tree rustle, I swear."

"Right. So…you want to go see if we can find this thing?" Alderpaw nodded.

"I was thinking that I could ask you since I remember you talking about your searching and tracking skills back in SAO."

"Well you've come to the right cat, Alderpaw. Let's go look for it, but first…" Alderpaw looked over at Kirito and noticed a sudden glow fill his eyes, much like Asuna's when she'd use her medicine cat powers.

"Could you always do that, Kirito?"

"Yeah. Using my searching skill really helps find prey and increases my senses." Kirito responded, swiping a paw down in front of him afterwards. "Still no menu though. That's a problem."

"Why?"

"Because my tracking skill is an active ability that helps me see pawsteps of allies, or enemies. It would've made this a bit easier, but since whatever we're looking for is hiding, my passive searching ability should be enough." He explained.

"That's good. You made it sound like it was a lost cause."

"Sorry about that. Anyway, our best bet is to look for the bedding and I'll keep my eyes peeled for anything hiding."

"Got it." The two toms headed into the forest in search of moss, leaves, and ferns, along with the mysterious follower. They were both good on finding bedding, so they made a pile that they'd bring back after searching a bit more. As they were walking, Alderpaw noticed a small trail of bedding materials consisting of ferns and leaves and walked over to it. "Kirito, look over here."

"What is it?" Kirito saw the trail, and looked over at the apprentice. "Nice eyes, Alderpaw. This definitely has to lead us somewhere." Kirito's eyes glowed like before and he looked forward. In his vision, he saw a bundle of red, noting that someone was there. "I found something. It's not too far, but we'll have to keep really quiet."

"Okay." The two walked slowly, Kirito noting the distance of the figure as they both approached closer and closer to it. The path of bedding ended, but luckily Kirito's searching skill was maxed out enough to detect the presence of what he the two believed to be a cat. The two finally closed in on the bush where Kirito's searching skill led them to. Silently, Kirito signaled that he'd break through the bush and look in, and Alderpaw nodded. Kirito slowly approached the bush and once he was close enough, he pushed some of the leaves away.

"Ah!" Kirito saw that there was a small she-cat in the bush who now jumped on him, pushing him away. "Get away from me!" She knocked Kirito over, but when she leaped towards him, he rolled out of the way. During the small skirmish, Alderpaw was able to get a good look at the she-cat.

"Wait a second…Needlepaw, is that you?"

"What?" The she-cat looked over at Alderpaw. "Oh, hey Alderpaw. I'm guessing this cute tom over here is your friend?"

"Cute?" Kirito looked over at Alderpaw. "I'm guessing you know her?"

"Yeah. She's a ShadowClan apprentice, who shouldn't even be here at all!"

"Excuse me? Last time I checked, this prophecy has to do with every Clan."

"But we never even traveled through ShadowClan. You're telling me that you were in WindClan when you saw us?" Kirito asked. "I don't see another cat here, so you're by yourself? Impressive."

"Kirito, don't encourage her. She really shouldn't be here. It's dangerous for her!" Alderpaw told him.

"Dangerous? I traveled through the Thunderpath just fine, unlike you, who needed help from…what's your name?"

"It's Kirito."

"Another cat from a different world was staying in ThunderClan? From what I've seen, he's not the only one either. Now I'm definitely staying. I'm not going to let ThunderClan get all the glory. ShadowClan can be part of this too, and I want to help find what's in the shadows." She replied. "I want to help the Clans as much as you all do."

"Alderpaw, it's your quest. Do you want Needlepaw to join us?" Kirito looked over at the apprentice.

"Please, Alderpaw?" She asked, persuasion in her purr.

"I…" A sudden yowl filled the air and the three turned their heads towards the source.

"It came from the hollow. C'mon you two, we can discuss this with the others!" Kirito told them as he dashed towards the camp, the two apprentices following behind. They all rushed as fast as they could and once they arrived at the camp, they saw that the others looked battle-scarred. Kirito walked over to Asuna, who was busy mending a wound on Sandstorm's shoulder. "Are you all okay?"

"I think so. A fox came into the hollow. Luckily Lelouch and Sandstorm were able to fend it off until we arrived." Suguha told him.

"Alderpaw, could you go check on Lelouch for me, please?" Asuna asked the apprentice. "Oh, who's this?"

"We can talk about me later. Alderpaw, you go and help Lelouch." Needlepaw told him. Alderpaw headed over to the black tom, Nightheart looking over him.

"What's Needlepaw doing here?" Lelouch asked as the apprentice began glancing over his body.

"She was following us. Where'd the fox get you?"

"At the top of my right hindleg. It's bad, but not as severe as Sandstorm's wound." He said.

"I'm glad that you both are okay. A fox isn't something that's easy to fight. I'm…so glad that you're alive, father." Nightheart said, pressing her head into his coat.

"You're right that it's bad. Are you able to walk?"

"Yeah, I think so." Lelouch got up from the ground and began to slowly walk, limping as he did.

"Father, you're in no shape to move. Just rest for now, right, Alderpaw?" Nightheart looked over at him.

"Yeah. Just lick that wound to clean it while I talk with Asuna to see if she has enough supplies." Alderpaw walked over to where Asuna was and saw that she already mended Sandstorm's wound and placed a cobweb on it.

"How's Lelouch doing?" Sandstorm asked.

"He's limping a bit, but he'll be fine." Alderpaw answered. "Asuna, do you have any cobwebs and Goldenrod that I can use?" The she-cat nodded and swiped a paw down to open up her inventory and in a few seconds, a bundle of Goldenrod dropped in front of Alderpaw.

"I'll give you the cobwebs once you're done with that." She told him. "You're doing a great job so far, Alderpaw. Jayfeather would be so proud of you."

"Thanks, Asuna." Alderpaw walked back over to where Lelouch was and saw that he was tending to his wound. "Looks cleaner now. Let me put this poultice on it." Alderpaw bit some of the Goldenrod off of its stem and chewed on it for a bit before placing it back on his paw and slowly massaging it onto the wound.

"StarClan gave you a lot of trouble, didn't they?" Lelouch told the medicine cat apprentice. "I'm sure that this is the right path for you, Alderpaw."

"I don't see what else they could want me to do." He responded with a small laugh. "Nightheart, are you hurt at all?"

"I'm okay. It's just a few scratches, but nothing too serious." She assured him.

"Even so, infection is still a possibility." He responded, not hesitating to look over the black she-cat. She had a few scratches on her forelegs and body, but other than that, it wasn't anything too serious. "Okay, luckily you're fine. I'm going to go get some cobwebs from Asuna."

"I can get them. You should go check on some of the others." Nightheart insisted.

"Okay. Just try to make sure that they conceal the wound well." Alderpaw informed her.

"Okay. I'll be back, father." Nightheart and Alderpaw both left the tom, the she-cat heading over to where Asuna and Sandstorm were. "Asuna, can you give me some cobwebs for my father?"

"Of course." Asuna opened up her inventory screen and selected the cobwebs, causing them to land on her right paw, which she had stuck out. "Here you go."

"Thank you." As she was given the cobwebs, Kirito approached the three she-cats.

"Hey you three. Sandstorm, are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, no thanks to Asuna." She told the tom with a smile.

"That's great to hear." He said. "Nightheart, you're okay too, right?" She nodded. "How about Lelouch? He looked pretty hurt."

"My father's doing fine. He has an injured hindleg, but I know he's strong." Nightheart assured him. "I should get going with these cobwebs, actually."

"Oh. Sorry for stalling you." The tom apologized.

"It's okay. Like I said, he's strong." With that, Nightheart made her way back to where her father was resting. "I have the cobwebs, father."

"Great. Although I think I rather have a medicine cat mend my wounds." He joked, causing her to smile.

"Well then your daughter will have to do for now." She responded as she applied the cobwebs onto his wound. She heard pawsteps from behind her and she turned around to see that Kirito had walked over to the two. "Father, it looks like you have a visitor."

"I see that. What brings you over here, Kirito?" He asked the tom.

"Oh, well I wanted to check how your leg was doing…and also I wanted to apologize." He said.

"For what?" Nightheart wondered.

"If I didn't insist on Sandstorm staying here, the both of you might be less injured than how you are now. It's really all my fault when you think about it."

"Kirito, honestly, it's okay. None of us knew that a fox would come here, especially since we're in uncharted territory. I'm sure my father doesn't feel any hatred towards you at all or anything." The she-cat assured him.

"She pretty much said it. Don't be too hard on yourself, Kirito. It could've happen the other way around and you and Alderpaw could've been attacked." Lelouch added. "I assume you apologized to Sandstorm as well?"

"Yeah, and she and Asuna pretty much reacted like you both did." He replied. "It's just hard seeing others hurt, and I guess thinking that it's my fault makes it even harder."

"Trust me, I've been through that the first time I came to this world." The other black tom responded with a small chuckle. "Try not to worry about it too much, especially since we still have a quest to complete. If anything, now would be a good time to fetch some of that bedding you and Alderpaw were supposed to get."

"Shoot, you're right! You and Sandstorm probably need that now! I'll go get that. Hey, Suguha!" Kirito called out as he made his way over to his cousin to ask her for help.

"You should go with him." Lelouch told Nightheart.

"Are you sure? I think he's getting help from Suguha, and you do need someone watching you." She insisted.

"I'll be fine. Besides, the others here can keep an eye on me."

"Well…I guess fetching the bedding is helping you. Promise that you'll be okay?"

"Now who's the worrying one here?"

"Well, I get it from both you and mother. Technically I'm ThunderClan's most worrying cat." She said with a giggle. "We'll get back as soon as we can." Nightheart gave her father a small kiss on the cheek before heading over to Kirito and Suguha to join them.

When the three cats returned with the bedding, they worked together with Molewhisker, Cherryfall, Sparkpaw, and Needlepaw to create their one huge nest for them all to use. Once it was done, they rested on it while Sandstorm began to speak.

"Okay, now that we're all together, we can talk about her." She glared over at Needlepaw. "What in the name of StarClan were you thinking sneaking off away from your Clan without a mentor? You were following us this entire time?"

"Yeah, because I want to help the Clans too! ThunderClan doesn't need to be glorified all the time." She retorted, causing the elder to sigh.

"I don't like the thought of her coming this way alone and staying with us…however we're not fox-hearted enough to let her go back by herself."

"Seriously? We shouldn't need to care for a ShadowClan apprentice. She was able to follow us up to now, so she should be fine getting back to ShadowClan." Molewhisker stated.

"Okay, but then I'll tell ShadowClan that ThunderClan has three other cats from a different world with them. We'll see what the other Clans think of that." She said slyly.

"You little mischievous…" Molewhisker did his best to hold his tongue.

"Go and tell them! It's not our fault that your Clan isn't good enough to be brought other cats!" Sparkpaw yelled.

"Sparkpaw, please." Cherryfall softly told her apprentice. "We can't just let her go along by herself. It's not right."

"She did help make these beds for us. She means well." Asuna added.

"Right. Needlepaw did say that she wanted to help find what was in the shadows, so why turn down her help?" Kirito said.

"What if something happens to her? ShadowClan's going to be on our tail forever about it!" Sparkpaw interjected. "Either way, I don't see anything good happening between ThunderClan and ShadowClan if she stays or leaves."

"Ultimately, this is Alderpaw's choice. It is his journey, after all." Sandstorm reminded them. "So Alderpaw, what do you think?" The others all looked over at the medicine cat apprentice, who looked like he wasn't sure what choice to make.

"She really doesn't mean any harm…and even if we make her leave, she'll just follow us most likely." He said.

"I guess that's true." Molewhisker said with a sigh.

"Lelouch, do you mind if I ask what you think about this?" Alderpaw asked the tom.

"Well…it would be wrong to leave her by herself. As long as she behaves and is respectful, I don't think there's a problem with her tagging along with us." He answered.

"Then it's settled?" Sandstorm looked over at Alderpaw, who nodded. "Needlepaw will join us."

"Fine, but we better not be responsible for anything wrong she does!" Sparkpaw growled.

"Please, I'm sure you'll be as much trouble as I am." The ShadowClan apprentice responded.

"Okay you two, let's not fight." Suguha told them, standing in the middle of the two.

"Well she started it." Needlepaw stated. "Actually…can I get a bit of an introduction to the group I'm now officially a part of?"

"Oh, right." Alderpaw walked over to where she was. "That's Molewhisker and Cherryfall. They're siblings. Over there is Sandstorm, and I'm sure you know my sister, Sparkpaw."

"More than I want to. She was much friendlier at the Gathering."

"Right. You remember Lelouch as well, I hope."

"Yeah, he's the one cat you were with. He's okay, although I think he's a bit bossy."

"Try not to think of him that way. He's really nice and helpful. Right next to him is Nightheart, his daughter. You met Kirito already. Over there is Suguha, who is his cousin, and that's Asuna. She's his mate, sorry about that." Alderpaw teased, causing a blush to form on her face.

"What? I know I called him cute before, but he's not that cute!"

"Aw, she thinks you're cute." Suguha told her cousin.

"At least that means she might listen to me." Kirito replied with a small laugh.

"Anyway, thanks for letting me join. It's not like you all could've stopped me from joining anyway." She stated.

"Now that the introductions are settled, why don't we eat? We're having one chaotic night so far and we still have fresh kill waiting for us." Molewhisker told them.

"Right, then after that we should get some sleep." Sandstorm added. Each cat got a piece of prey, Nightheart and Alderpaw picking two up to give Lelouch and Sandstorm one. As they were eating, Asuna noticed that Needlepaw was sitting by herself, her paws empty.

"Needlepaw!" She called out. The apprentice walked over to the cream she-cat.

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to share some of this mouse with me?"

"Actually, I was just going to catch my own fresh-kill. I don't need any of you hunting for me."

"Well, it's pretty late now, and we're probably going to sleep after this." The she-cat responded.

"Oh…um…are you sure, Asuna?"

"Of course. We all need our energy for this journey."

"Oh, thanks." Asuna moved the mouse so that it was between them both.

"Isn't she great?" Kirito stated, his mouth full of fresh kill.

"I'll say. You know, you three aren't that bad."

"Did you think we would be?" Suguha asked.

"Definitely, especially after meeting Lelouch at the Gathering a while back. He doesn't seem fun…but Alderpaw made it sound like it was my fault for seeing him that way."

"You do seem free-spirited, just like a certain cat I know can be sometimes." Asuna looked over at Kirito, his face still full of fresh-kill. Once he swallowed, he looked over at her. "That's a compliment."

"Oh, well thanks, Asuna." He said. "Don't worry Needlepaw, it only seemed like Molewhisker and Sparkpaw had a problem with you being around, but they just want this journey to be how it originally was intended. You'll be fine."

After they all finished eating, each cat found their own spot on the huge bed that they were sharing so that they would be fully rested for tomorrow, especially with everything that suddenly transpired once they arrived at the hollow. After they all exchanged goodnights to each other, they began to sleep, Alderpaw feeling a bit uneasy as he did. _With that fox attack, two of us are now injured, but now Needlepaw's with us. Hopefully she's helpful. I don't want this all to be for nothing in the end. Oh StarClan, please tell me that we'll find all the answers we need on this journey._


	6. Chapter 5: StarClan's Trials?

Chapter 5: StarClan's Trials?

 _"_ _Here you go, Alderpaw_." Asuna handed over some comfrey root to the medicine cat apprentice. The group was now wide awake and Alderpaw wanted to check Sandstorm's wound. Asuna did the same to Lelouch and saw that it was healing up well before reapplying cobwebs to it. Unlike his, Sandstorm's wound still had blood flowing from it, so the two medicine cats were both working to fix the issue.

"Thank you, this is just enough." Alderpaw began to chew the root into a poultice and then slowly massaged it into Sandstorm's wound.

"It feels way better now." The elder told him.

"That's a good thing. Asuna, do you mind checking the others? I'll join you soon."

"Okay. Now, let's see here…" Asuna walked over to where the other cats were and began looking over them. "Is anyone actually feeling any sort of pain?"

"Just my shoulder aching, but nothing else." Molewhisker told her.

"Okay. How about you, Cherryfall? Is that just fur missing?"

"Luckily." She replied with a small laugh.

"That's good. Nightheart…you have a scratch on your foreleg. Do you mind if I soothe it for you?"

"Not at all. You are a medicine cat, after all." Asuna opened up her inventory screen and pressed on the comfrey root. Once it appeared in front of her, she chewed it for a while until it formed into a poultice. She then rubbed it on the black she-cat's wound and she let out a sigh of relief. "That feels better. Thank you."

"It no trouble at all." Asuna looked over at Suguha and saw that Alderpaw was now tending to her wounds. "Need any help?"

"Thanks, but I think I got it." Alderpaw assured the she-cat. "It looks like just a few scratches on your side, but nothing major. Are you feeling any sort of pain?" He asked, looking into the she-cat's emerald green eyes.

"I'm okay. No pain whatsoever." She replied.

"You're doing really well, Alderpaw." Sandstorm praised the medicine cat apprentice as she watched him. "We should have a group go out hunting before we leave."

"Alderpaw, Needlepaw and I can stay here while the rest of you go out hunting." Kirito offered.

"What? I want to go out hunting!" Needlepaw complained.

"You and Kirito can both go out. I'm sure that Lelouch still needs to recover a bit, and I am a medicine cat too." Asuna responded "Kirito, I know you may still feel bad for yesterday, but it really wasn't your fault." She told him. "Just go out hunting with the others to try and keep you mind off of it."

"Okay. If you say so."

"C'mon Kirito, I'm sure a bit of hunting's all you'll need." Molewhisker told him. "Can't let the she-cats show us up after all."

"Seriously? Is that how it's going to be?" Cherryfall stated as she glared over at her brother.

"Don't worry, Kirito's distracted still, so it shouldn't be an issue." Nightheart added.

"Really? We'll see about that! Let's go, Molewhisker!" Kirito told the other tom as they raced ahead of the rest of the group.

"Cherryfall, Nightheart, thank you. Make sure to tell Molewhisker that too." Asuna told the two with a smile before they left to hunt.

"He'll be better soon, Asuna, don't worry." Alderpaw told her.

"He reminds me of a certain someone." Sandstorm said with a small laugh, looking over at Lelouch. "Do you still think about the Dark Forest battle?"

"Not really. I remember it, but it's been so long. I remember how much it ate at me though, you don't have to remind me about that." The black tom replied. "Alderpaw's right though; Kirito's strong enough to get through the guilt he's feeling."

"Yeah, I'm sure he will."

After about a half hour of waiting, the hunting party returned to the group, prey in their jaws. They were surprised at how much Needlepaw actually caught, especially since she was an apprentice.

"Wow Needlepaw, those are some nice catches you got there." Alderpaw told her.

"Yeah, she would have one more, but she broke the warrior code and ate it instead!" Sparkpaw complained.

"Let's not get our fur ruffled. We should just eat and then take a small rest before we start moving again." Sandstorm stated.

"Well, whoever wants my catches can have 'em." Needlepaw placed her prey down and rested on the nest that they all shared, watching the others eat.

"Alderpaw, are you going to share with your sister?" Suguha asked him. "If you want, we can share this squirrel that I caught." Alderpaw looked around the hollow, but saw no sign of his sister.

"Sure. Thanks for offering, Suguha." Alderpaw sat next to the light ginger she-cat and she pushed her squirrel between them both. "Do you know where Sparkpaw went? She was just complaining and now I don't know where she is."

"She's just resting over there." Kirito informed him, pointing a claw over to where Needlepaw was. He saw a bundle of fur next to the ShadowClan apprentice. Although he was relieved to see her, he was also surprised that the two weren't arguing at all.

"I guess she's more hungry than tired." Asuna said as she took a bite of the mouse in front of her. "Maybe she didn't sleep well last night."

"Maybe it's because someone here was snoring." Suguha looked over at Kirito.

"What? I don't snore at all!" He replied, causing the other three to laugh. "Ha, ha, very funny, Suguha."

"These two like teasing you a lot, huh?" Alderpaw said with a small chuckle.

"That's the thing with she-cats: they can tease you as much as they want, but once you tease them, you're done for." He whispered over to the apprentice.

"What are you telling him?" Asuna asked, a small bit of anger in her tone.

"N-nothing, Asuna!" He assured her. "Why don't we just get to eating so we can rest sooner?" Asuna moved the mouse away from Kirito with her paw. "What?"

"Tell us what you told Alderpaw." She asked again. Alderpaw looked over at Suguha and he saw her move the squirrel that they were sharing away.

"I mean…it's nothing really bad." Alderpaw told them.

"Then what is it, Kirito?"

"I was just telling Alderpaw to not tease she-cats because they're sensitive, that's all, I swear!" Kirito admitted.

"Are you trying to imply something?" Suguha asked her cousin, who quickly shook his head.

"Uh…can I have some of that squirrel now?" Alderpaw asked her.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. Just wanted to be a part of the small joke." She said with a giggle before bringing the squirrel back in front of Alderpaw. "You can have the rest."

"Thank you." The apprentice bowed his head before consuming the rest of the prey in front of him. All the medicine cat work he had been doing really had him deserving some sort of prey, especially since this was his first meal of the day.

Once every cat finished eating, they began to get comfortable and rest before they continued on their journey. As they were about to sleep, Cherryfall looked around.

"Shouldn't one of us stay up and keep watch? Just in case another fox comes."

"I'll do it." Kirito immediately offered without hesitation. "You all get some rest. I'll make sure to wake you up if anything comes our way."

"Do you need any help? One of us could stay awake with you." Molewhisker asked, but the tom shook his head.

"I'll be fine, promise." The other cats thanked Kirito before lying down on their shared bed of ferns and moss, leaving him to be the only cat awake from the group. _At this point, it's the least I can do for the fox attack yesterday. If I see one fox, I'll make sure it regrets coming here._

After about two hours of watching over the hollow, Kirito saw no sign of foxes around. He didn't want to admit it since he offered to keep watch, but he was bored. He wanted to go out hunting again, but more than that, he wanted their journey to continue. He quickly turned around once he sensed movement, but didn't see any sign of a fox. Instead, he saw Alderpaw shifting in his sleep, most likely from a bad dream. He walked over to him and gave him a soft shake.

"Alderpaw, hey, wake up." The medicine cat apprentice's amber eyes shot open and he looked up at Kirito. "You okay? I think you were having a nightmare."

"No, that wasn't it. I was…having a vision." He answered.

"I didn't end it prematurely, did I?"

"A little bit, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we get going, right now!"

"Right. Okay everyone, get up! Let's get moving!" Kirito yelled, causing the others to break free from their slumber.

"What's the rush? Can't we rest for a bit more?" Cherryfall asked, letting out a yawn.

"There's no time! Sandstorm, let me check your wound. Follow me." The two cats broke away from the group.

"No foxes, I'm guessing?" Asuna said as she padded over to where Kirito was.

"Of course not. They knew I was guarding you all, so they didn't dare show up." She let out a small giggle.

"Well I'm sure we all appreciate it." She gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "I should go and help Alderpaw. He might need something." Asuna walked over to where Sandstorm and Alderpaw were and saw that they were talking. Once they noticed her, they stopped and Alderpaw began to check on Sandstorm's wound. "Sorry, was I interrupting something?"

"No, it's okay." Alderpaw assured her. "This doesn't look good." Asuna gazed down at the wound and saw that it was red and swollen.

"You're right. It looks like the start of an infection." Asuna opened up her inventory and scrolled down with a paw, but Sandstorm used her own paw to lower it down. "What? Sandstorm, we need to do something about it."

"It's fine you two. I don't want to slow this quest down. I've been around a lot longer than you both and have had plenty of wounds. This one doesn't even hurt."

"But Asuna's right. We need to—."

"Alderpaw, Asuna, I don't need you both to worry about me. This wound is nothing. I don't need you wasting supplies that you can use on injuries that are much more severe. Please just listen to me, as an elder." Asuna and Alderpaw both looked at each other, both knowing that there was no use in arguing.

"Okay. Let's get back with the others then." Asuna and Alderpaw walked next to Sandstorm and approached the rest of the cats.

"So, we're heading out now?" Nightheart asked the three.

"Yes. C'mon everyone, we need to keep moving." Alderpaw told them. The others got up, and before they headed out, Alderpaw realized something. "Wait, I forgot to check on Lelouch's wound." He walked over to the violet-eyed tom, who placed his foreleg out so Alderpaw could inspect it. He removed the cobweb and comfrey off of it and let out a sigh of relief. Unlike Sandstorm's, his looked much better, showing no signs of infection, possibly due to the tom being younger and much healthier than the elder.

"How is it?"

"You tell me, then I'll tell you what I think. It doesn't hurt when you walk anymore, right?" Lelouch walked a bit and Alderpaw was glad to see that the tom wasn't limping.

"Not at all. It feels healed, actually."

"Good. That's what I'm seeing. I just wanted to make sure that you felt the same way because you're the only one who can sense if your injury is hindering you with the way it looks." Alderpaw placed the cobweb and comfrey back on the wound. "It's not exactly fully healed yet, so keep it on for a bit, got it?"

"Understood."

"Thank you for helping my father, Alderpaw. I'm happy to see that he's okay." Nightheart told him, giving the medicine cat apprentice a small lick on the forehead, causing him to blush.

"It's partially what I'm here for." He replied with a smile. "Okay everyone, let's get moving."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So, why couldn't we just stay at the hollow for the night again?" Molewhisker asked as the group trekked through the trees in the forest. The sun above had begun to set, the cats walking for hours at this point.

"Exactly! We could've left tomorrow morning." Sparkpaw added.

"I just wanted to get going, that's all." Alderpaw simply answered.

"Remember that this is Alderpaw's quest and he's the leader. We shouldn't be arguing with him." Suguha told the two.

"Yeah, but he should make a choice that we all agree on." Sparkpaw retorted.

"Well, the only ones here complaining are you and Molewhisker."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I just wanted an answer." Molewhisker stated. "What Alderpaw said was enough." The others could see that he was just saying that to stop any further animosity between the group.

"Well I still am. I'm just trying to look out for all of us."

"And we appreciate it, Sparkpaw, but you know that we have to keep on moving." Cherryfall replied. The apprentice rolled her eyes and just continued walking. Alderpaw saw a light ginger blur next to him and looked over at Suguha.

"Thank you for backing me up, Suguha."

"You're welcome. I just don't want you to feel stressed out about leading us, that's all. You're doing great so far." Back at camp, Alderpaw barely interacted with Suguha at all, but during this journey, she was always helping him in some way, and he appreciated having her around. As they were walking, Alderpaw noticed Needlepaw closing in on him.

"Hey Suguha, do you mind if I talk with Alderpaw for a bit?"

"I'm guessing this is a private talk, then?" The ShadowClan apprentice nodded and Suguha slowed her pace so she joined the cats behind her.

"So, what can I help you with?" Alderpaw asked.

"When you were talking to Sandstorm, I just wanted to tell you that I heard everything." She whispered in his ear. Alderpaw began to feel tense. He wouldn't mind if one of the other ThunderClan cats overheard the real motive of this journey, but having Needlepaw know was the worst case scenario that could've happened. _She could just be pulling some reverse psychology on me, so maybe she didn't hear._

"Okay, so now you know more about comfrey root? It's good to know about." Needlepaw let out a snicker.

"Comfrey root? Sure, but I know more than that as well."

"Well the rest wasn't even important."

"I don't know; your vision seems important." Alderpaw let out a sigh. He was getting flustered by the annoying she-cat, but really still hoped that she didn't learn anything.

"If it'll make you stop bugging me, we were talking about cats who need our help."

"What kind?"

"Of cat? Any that needs help. As a medicine cat, helping is what I'm destined to do."

"Hmmm…everything's adding up now, isn't it?" As they were talking, they looked back once they heard Cherryfall speak.

"Look over there." She pointed a claw over at a Twoleg structure in the distance.

"That would be a barn." Sandstorm informed them. "Looks like there's other Twoleg dens beyond it. It's better if we stay away from it." The cats continued their walk until they were stopped by a tall fence topped with spikes. Kirito let out a gulp.

"That's one pointy fence." He stated. "Maybe there's some other way to go around?"

"Are you really scared of a fence? After all we've been through that's what you're afraid of?" Asuna told him.

"Well it's different since we're cats! As humans, a fence is just a fence, but now…it just looks bad." Asuna looked up at the top of the fence and felt her body shiver thinking about the possibility of an accident.

"You're right. Sorry, Kirito." She apologized. "Maybe we could walk around?"

"It would take too long. Look how far it goes." Alderpaw said, glancing to his left and right to see the stretch of fencing.

"How about we go under?" Sparkpaw said.

"We're not rabbits!" Needlepaw retorted, causing Sparkpaw to let out a small growl.

"Well…maybe there's a hole that we can fit through?" Nightheart suggested.

"Even so, the edges of the hole would be pretty sharp and dangerous to maneuver through." Lelouch added. "As scary as it seems, the only way through is up."

"Lelouch's right. If everything else doesn't work, the only way that works is climbing over." Needlepaw said. "It doesn't seem that hard. Watch."

"Be careful up there." Suguha warned the apprentice as she began her climb. Once she got to the top, she balanced her paws between the spikes before leaping off and landing on the other side.

"What'd I tell you? Easy!"

"I'll show her how easy it is." Sparkpaw muttered as she began to climb up the fence.

"Careful, Sparkpaw. This isn't a contest." Lelouch warned her. She climbed the same way Needlepaw did and soon enough, joined the other she-cat apprentice on the other side.

"So…anyone want to go next?" Cherryfall asked, looking at the others.

"Let's just get this over with." Kirito told them before he began to climb up the fence. He ascended it with ease and quickly leaped over to the other side. "Hey, that wasn't actually that bad." He said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Hopefully I have the same luck." Molewhisker said, making the climb up the fence. He got to the top and balanced between the spikes before leaping down to join the other three.

"Nice climbing, Molewhisker." Kirito said with praise. After him, Asuna, Cherryfall, and Suguha made their way over, leaving the other four left to climb.

"Father, is your foreleg healed enough to make the climb?" Nightheart asked, and he nodded his head.

"Don't worry about me, Nightheart. You just make sure to be careful, okay? I promised Ivypool we'd both get back safe."

"O-okay then. I'll let you go first." He nodded and walked over to the fence. Lifting a paw up, he placed his paws in the small holes of the fence and began to climb. Nightheart let out a small laugh, realizing that he was moving at the same speed as the others and she was worrying about nothing. She then watched him jump off of the top of the fence, joining the others waiting for them. She then began to climb skillfully and soon enough made it to the other side. Alderpaw was next. They could tell the he was nervous, but near the top, he moved quickly and leaped down next to Sparkpaw. As he jumped, Sandstorm had already began to climb the fence, but once she reached the top, her paws suddenly slipped and she fell down. Kirito moved quick enough so that she broke his fall on him.

"Kirito!" Asuna ran over to the pile of the two cats and Alderpaw followed her. "Are you both okay?"

"I'm fine. Hopefully he is too." Sandstorm said, moving off of the tom.

"Yeah, I'm good. Remember, Suguha landed on me when we got here." Kirito assured his girlfriend.

"You're not just saying that, right? Your back isn't killing you?" Alderpaw asked him.

"I mean, a bit, but it doesn't stop me from walking or anything."

"Good. Let's keep going then." Once the group got back together, they continued on their journey. Asuna was walking near Sandstorm and noticed that her wound was bleeding.

"Sandstorm, did you scrape your shoulder on one of those spikes?" Alderpaw now looked over at the elder and saw what Asuna was talking about.

"I think she did. We should stop and tend it."

"I told you both to not worry about me. You should be worrying about that!" The whole group stopped and looked at the creature a few fox-lengths away.

"What is that thing?" Needlepaw wondered.

"That's a cow." Lelouch told them. "As far as I know, they don't harm cats, but if they start running, they'll trample us."

"So, we just try not to scare or alert them?" Cherryfall stated.

"Right. There's nothing to worry about them." The group made their way around the cow, but suddenly, it raised its head and let out a thundering sound, causing the Clan cats to run, leaving Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, and Lelouch walking.

"To be fair, that was a pretty loud moo." Suguha said with a giggle.

"Yeah. If it was my first time hearing something like that, I'd run as fast as they did." Kirito added.

"Maybe we should've warned them?" Asuna suggested.

"It's a bit too late for that." Lelouch said with a small laugh. "Let's catch up with them. It looks like they're catching their breath at the moment." Once the four made it over to the others, they saw the Clan cats look at them in shock.

"You four couldn't have warned us about that?" Cherryfall asked, still panting for her breath.

"It slipped our minds." Kirito told them. The others looked at each other and shared a laugh about their sudden nervousness at the noise emanating from the cow. "We should keep going now."

"Agreed." Alderpaw took the lead as they passed by the farm. As they walked, they spotted a small den with birds pecking around it.

"Do those birds make any loud noises?" Nightheart asked with a small giggle.

"Not as loud as the cow. Those are actually chickens, y'know, like the stuff we ate from the trash?" Kirito told her.

"Ugh, don't remind me that we did that." Asuna stated. "It's better off if we— Sparkpaw, get back here!" Asuna called out as the apprentice walked closer to one, attempting to catch it. Once she pounced, the chicken turned around and let out squawks as it flapped its wings before it began to peck at her, causing her to leap back and let out a angered hiss. As she walked back, Asuna gave her a small soft bite to her right ear.

"Ow! Asuna, what was that for!?" She asked, rubbing her ear with a paw.

"For going off like that! We can't be reckless, especially with animals you've never seen before!" She scolded her, causing Alderpaw to laugh.

"She sounds just like mom, doesn't she?"

"Maybe I'd be able to hear better if I wasn't rubbing my ear." Sparkpaw muttered.

"What was that?" Asuna glared at her.

"N-nothing Asuna!" Sparkpaw quickly stammered. The others laughed at the small interaction.

"You know she's not our daughter, right?" Kirito reminded her.

"Well, I promised to take care of her and Alderpaw, so that's what I'm doing. I'm sure Squirrelflight would agree with what I did."

"Definitely. Mom actually probably would've done worse." Alderpaw informed her. "Anyway, let's keep moving."

The group reached a hedge and could see rows of yellow-brown plants beyond it. A faint rumbling of monsters could be heard, along with a haze in the air.

"There's a Thunderpath on the other side." Alderpaw informed them.

"Still, this is the way we need to go." Sandstorm replied. They began to move through the hedge and once they were out, Sparkpaw gave Needlepaw a shove.

"I swear to StarClan if you keep acting up I'm going to claw your face off."

"You can try." Needlepaw slyly responded with a playful swipe of her paw.

"Hey! Stop fighting you two!" Asuna told them.

"She started it!" Sparkpaw told her.

"I don't care who did what. The last thing we need is fighting, especially between you both." She answered. "Am I clear?"

"Yes, Asuna." The two muttered before the group continued through the yellow-brown plants.

"Asuna, do you know what these plants are?" Alderpaw asked as he made his way through them alongside her.

"It's wheat. Twolegs use this plant a lot. By the looks of it, I don't think that what we're hearing is something on a Thunderpath." They broke through the wheat and in front of them the wheat was thinning, some of the plants now cut down. They now watched as they saw a monster with spinning jaws moving towards them, taking the wheat into its maw.

"It's coming this way! Run!" Sandstorm commanded. The whole group began to sprint away as fast as they could, but the noise from the monster kept growing louder and louder. As Alderpaw was running, he suddenly felt something grab him by the scruff and looked back to see Suguha.

"Careful. You almost ran into the fence." Alderpaw looked in front of him and let out a gasp of shock. He didn't expect to see another one here.

"We have to climb it before that thing gets us!" Molewhisker advised everyone.

"One step ahead of you!" Kirito quickly made his way up the fence and leaped over to the other side. The others followed the black tom across the fence as fast as they could. Like before, Alderpaw climbed up the fence before leaving Sandstorm alone on the other side. The elder climbed up, but like before, she slipped and fell down before she had a chance to jump off, but this time, she landed on her paws before stumbling to the ground.

"Alderpaw, her wound isn't looking any better. From everything we've been through, there's no way that it isn't infected." Asuna advised him, the two looking at the wound.

"Right." He looked back at the others. "Everyone else go hunt. Asuna and I will take care of Sandstorm." The others set off, leaving the two medicine cats with the elder. "Her wound must've got caught by one of the spikes, but unlike last time this is much worse." He said before he began to clean the mud off of it. As he did, Asuna looked through her inventory for cobwebs. Once she had them selected, they formed in her paw and she placed them on the bleeding wound, but it wasn't enough to stop the blood from flowing.

"Alderpaw, I'm out of cobwebs now." She told him.

"It's fine. This is enough. We'll find some more later. Right now, help me move her over to the hollow over there." He replied. "Sandstorm, you can still walk, right?"

"Y-yeah, but I'd really…like to rest a bit."

"You'll get all the rest you can get. Alderpaw and I will make sure that you're okay." Asuna assured her, the two medicine cats helping the elder get to the nearby hollow and placed some dead leaves into it before letting her rest. "Asuna, I need some marigold, horsetail, or honey. Please tell me that you have some."

"I know I don't have honey, but I'm not sure about the others." The she-cat swiped a paw in front of her and looked through her inventory. "I have some marigold and horsetail." She picked the two out of her inventory and it appeared in front of her. She began to chew on it to create a poultice and once she did, Alderpaw slowly removed the cobwebs and she slowly rubbed it into Sandstorm's wound, causing her to wince. "It's okay Sandstorm, just one more." Asuna chewed on the horsetail and slowly added it to the wound, Alderpaw reapplying the cobwebs.

"Sandstorm, are you still awake?" Alderpaw asked. Her body was slowly heaving, but her eyes were closed.

"It's probably best if we let her rest for a bit." Asuna told him. "Alderpaw…I'm worried about Sandstorm."

"Yeah…I am too. I want to not worry, but it's not possible. All we can do is hope that the wound heals overnight."

"Right. You know, I'm sure Jayfeather and Leafpool will be happy to hear everything I've seen you do these past days. I've watched you grow so much in your task as a medicine cat. I'm proud of you. I know I've told you that before, but it's true."

"You've done as good as me, Asuna. Don't forget that you're a warrior as well. I know you haven't done much other than help me tend to wounds on this journey, but…I couldn't be happier having a cat like you by my side." A small blush formed on the tom's face. "S-sorry if that was too sentimental."

"No, it's okay, I know what you were saying. I'm happy that you feel that way, Alderpaw." She said with a smile. "I'll go out and try to find some water for her. You'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah. I don't think there's anything around that is trying to harm us. Make sure to come back safe."

"I will." Asuna left to head out into the woods in search of water. It had rained the day before, so she hoped that there was at least a puddle still intact, or at least some source of water. She took some moss that she found nearby and began walking through the unknown forest. She let out a sigh of relief when she found a large puddle after a few minutes of walking. She knew that the water wasn't as clean as she'd want it to be, but at the moment it didn't matter. After soaking the bundle of moss in the water, she made her way back to where Alderpaw and Sandstorm were. The others had come back from hunting and were now eating the prey that they caught.

"Good, you're back. I was getting a bit worried." Alderpaw told her as she approached with the moss. "Sandstorm, wake up. Asuna brought you some water."

"Yup. Here." Asuna placed the moss in front of the elder and she slowly lapped at it.

"You should eat some more, too." He informed her.

"I told you before that you can have the rest of it. I'm full." Asuna looked over at the mouse near Sandstorm and only saw a small bite taken out of it. "You both…don't worry about me. I'll be fine. We just…need to worry…about the others…"

"Others?" Asuna looked over at Alderpaw.

"She means the rest of the group! She's just trying to be modest." Alderpaw quickly assured her. "Why don't you go join the others and have something to eat? I'll look over her for the time being." Asuna walked away from the two and joined the rest of the cats who were all sitting close to each other.

"How's Sandstorm doing?" He asked, sliding his partially eaten mouse over to her.

"She just needs rest...but I'm really unsure about after that."

"I think we should stay put until she's better. Sure wherever we're going matters, but we shouldn't forget about the health of the group."

"That's odd coming from someone who always couldn't wait until we restarted our journey." Cherryfall said.

"Kirito's right though. We should stop for Sandstorm's sake." Nightheart stated.

"Do you think that's what Alderpaw would want?" Sparkpaw wondered.

"Of course he would! I'm surprised that you don't even know your brother that well." Needlepaw replied, causing Sparkpaw to let out a growl. "Anyway, I know it's not really my place to speak since I'm from ShadowClan, but I agree on waiting."

"Don't think that, Needlepaw. You're part of our group, so we value your input." Lelouch assured her. "I didn't sense anything nearby while hunting, so it should be safe to stay here."

"Right. We shouldn't be risking our lives for cats we don't even know the location of. Who knows? Maybe we passed them already." Molewhisker said.

"Well that's a pessimistic way of thinking." Suguha responded. "I think that we're still on the right path. Alderpaw and Sandstorm probably would've said otherwise."

"She does have a point, Molewhisker." Cherryfall told her brother. "I just hope we get there by tomorrow. I'm already uncomfortable being this far away from ThunderClan."

"Well we are in uncharted territory, so it's just a natural feeling." Lelouch assured her. "Although I'm sure Needlepaw doesn't feel that way."

"It's better than being pent up in ShadowClan all day. All I do is training that I already have been through a bunch of time and then sleep and repeat."

"To be fair, you are a really great hunter though, so all that training couldn't have been for nothing." Suguha told her.

"I still can't believe you just ran away from ShadowClan and followed us. It's bizarre." Nightheart said.

"You were the same way when you were an apprentice, Nightheart, remember? I can't count how many times I'm hear Ivypool yell at you for trying to sneak out." Cherryfall reminisced with a giggle, causing the black she-cat to blush.

"Good thing father doesn't have to deal with that now, right?" Nightheart said with a smile, looking over at Lelouch.

"I guess you're right. Ivypool would probably be yelling at me as well for your rebellious actions." He replied with a laugh.

"I know that feeling." Kirito said, receiving a small push from Asuna.

"You and Asuna have a kit of your own?" Molewhisker asked. "I never see it around, so it must be some special case." The two nodded.

"Her name's Yui. In SAO, we found her and pretty much adopted her. She was originally a program in the game, so we only see her when we're in any sort of game, thanks to Kirito." Asuna explained.

"Well, if you have that weird medicine cat inventory thingy, it's possible she could be in this world." Sparkpaw told her.

"We're not sure if it works that way, but it could be possible." Kirito stated. "If she was only here, maybe she'd tell us if we're going the right way. She's really good at navigating."

"I'd love to meet her right now if that's the case." Molewhisker said before letting out a yawn.

"Looks like someone's…" Before she could finish, Asuna let out a yawn. "I was going to say someone's sleepy, but I guess I am too."

"You've done a lot today, Asuna. If any of us deserve rest for hard work, it's you and Alderpaw." Suguha told her.

"She's right. Without you both, who knows what would happen if we got hurt? We're lucky to have you here." Molewhisker told her.

"You know Kirito's here, right?" Cherryfall teased, causing her brother to blush.

"I guess this is payback for teasing you all the time?"

"What do you think?" The others all shared a laugh. "I think we should all get some sleep now. I know it's not as dark at the moment, but it wouldn't hurt."

"Agreed." Kirito plopped down on the grass and shifted a bit until he was comfortable. The others did the same.  
"Alderpaw, we're going to sleep now, if that's okay with you."

"It's fine. Goodnight then everyone." The tom told them before he resumed helping Sandstorm.

"Goodnight everyone." Kirito told them before he closed his eyes and began to sleep, restoring his energy for tomorrow.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kirito opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, stars scattered throughout the blanket of night above his head. _They look amazing tonight._ He looked around him and saw no sign of Asuna or the others. In fact, he realized that he was no longer in the forest with them. Instead, he was on a grassy plain, some trees visible in the distance.

"I guess I must be dreaming." He told himself and he got up to his paws. He made his way over to where the trees were and made his way through the small forest before breaking through and reaching another grassy terrain, but this time, trees were scattered through it and he could see some cats were around there as well.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kirito's ears twitched and he turned around to see a pale ginger she-cat with bright green eyes, starlight shimmering along her ears and paws. He almost mistook her for Suguha, but her voice didn't match up.

"Oh, hi. I'm guessing you live here?"

"I do now." She told him. "Kirito, do you not recognize me?" She asked with a giggle.

"Nope. I'm sorry if I…" Kirito let out a small gasp when he realized that the cat in front of her was Sandstorm. She looked younger and stronger. Her wound was also gone. "Sandstorm…you look amazing." A sudden blush covered the tom's face. "I mean that in a friendly way!" The she-cat let out another small laugh.

"Thank you, Kirito. I'm glad to be the cat that brought you to StarClan."

"Wait…this is StarClan?" She nodded. "So you're…" He looked at the she-cat in shock and could feel his whole body begin to tremble. "…you're here because of me…" Sandstorm walked over to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I knew what I was getting into when I came on this journey. It was fate that brought me to StarClan. Don't think for a second that it's your fault that I'm here now, Kirito." She assured him, but he shook his head. "You really are stubborn, you know that?"

"How can you be happy knowing that you're here now?" He softly asked the she-cat.

"Well, for one, I'll be reunited with Firestar…and secondly, I met a cat like you before I died, Kirito. I'm so glad that I got to spend time with cats from other worlds. It means so much that they came into my life. Every single one has been so kind and generous to not only me, but the Clans as well. I know that I'll never forget them." She looked up at him and saw a small smile come across his face. "There we go. Promise me that you won't put the blame on what happened on yourself. You don't deserve that burden, Kirito." She gave him a small lick on the cheek, causing the tom to blush. Once she noticed, she could feel her face become hot as well. "S-sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I forget that I'm not an elder anymore so it's a bit strange to do that to another young cat."

"I-it's okay, really, Sandstorm." He assured her. "I guess I just hope that you'll be happy here. We're all going to miss you."

"I know. Just make sure that you all succeed on this journey. I've told Alderpaw where you need to go from here, so you should be fine."

"We'll make sure we get this all figured out, for the Clans and for you, Sandstorm. We can't let this journey be for nothing."

"That's what I like to hear." She placed her forepaws on Kirito's for a few seconds, a light aura cloaking them. Once it subsided, she looked at him. "Try opening your menu now." Kirito placed a paw in front of him and swiped it downwards, the SAO menu now appearing in front of him.

"Wow. Thanks, Sandstorm. I kinda wish you gave this to me before." He said with a laugh.

"Well the time wasn't right, but now it is since I'm in StarClan now." She said. "You'll need it for where this journey takes you. I can't go into much detail about it, since I don't know much, but the others here told me that." As he looked through the menu, he saw the dual wield skill on this list and pressed on it. He looked at his two forepaws and saw an aura form on his paws, a black aura around his right forepaw, and an aqua aura on his left forepaw, each aura forming at a point and representing Elucidator and Dark Repulser. "Please don't poke me with your paws like that." Kirito let out a laugh.

"Don't worry, I won't." His paws returned to normal and he looked at the she-cat in front of him with a smile. "It's going to be weird not seeing you along with us on this journey…but I know we'll never forget you."

"I'm happy just knowing that. Make sure to keep the others safe, but don't forget about your own safety as well. The kindness of protecting others is meaningless if you don't protect yourself."

"Will do. Actually, Sandstorm, I was wondering something…"

"Yes?"

"Why am I able to come to StarClan in my dreams?"

"Because you're important to the cats here. You, Asuna, Suguha, and Lelouch were brought to this world by StarClan. We know that you'll be able to aid the Clans in their time of need."

"Oh, that reminds me about something! If StarClan sent us here, the sender of the message we got must be around here. I think the messenger's name was…Spottedleaf!"

"Spottedleaf…sent you a message? So it wasn't StarClan who sent you here then. I only assumed that was the case since Lelouch was brought here that way before."

"Can you tell me more about this cat?"

"She used to be ThunderClan's medicine cat back when we were in our old territory, but she died. Then, during the Dark Forest battle, she died protecting me…so she's no longer with StarClan…but then she must be somewhere if she called out for you to help us!"

"Interesting. Well, I guess I hope that you find her…wherever she is."

"Maybe the others know where she is. I haven't exactly been here for over a day yet." She told him with a small laugh. "I guess I should say goodbye for now, Kirito. Remember what I told you, and don't forget that StarClan will always be watching over you."

"Yeah. Until next time, Sandstorm." Kirito watched as the she-cat in front of him turned around to leave, suddenly becoming a patch of stars before Kirito's vision turned black.

Kirito's dark gray eyes shot open and he lifted his head up and saw Asuna's cream coat as his makeshift pillow again, telling him that he was back in the real world. He slowly got up to his paws and saw Alderpaw looking down at Sandstorm's body. He padded over to him and the medicine cat apprentice turned around once he heard his pawsteps.

"Kirito…"

"I know what happened, Alderpaw. I was just talking to her in StarClan."

"She…talked to you?"

"Yeah…pretty neat, huh? Look, she even gave me a gift." Kirito swiped his paw down and Alderpaw watched as the same menu that Asuna used appeared in front of him.

"That's…great…but…" He hit the ground with a paw. "It's not fair! It wasn't her time!" He yelled, causing the rest of the group to stir awake from their slumber.

"What's going on?" Cherryfall asked as she slowly rose from the nest, the others following behind her. Alderpaw pointed his tail over to Sandstorm's lifeless body and each cat looked at her in shock.

"Alderpaw…is she…dead?" Asuna asked, her voice being choked up by the sadness swelling through her and the others.

"This is horrible. She was the only one who knew where we had to go…but now…all this traveling for nothing?" Molewhisker let out a sigh of disbelief.

"We can't give up. We all know that Sandstorm wouldn't have wanted us to, right, father?" Nightheart looked over at Lelouch, but only saw his blank stare over Sandstorm's body. "Father?" Lelouch shook his head and brought himself back to reality.

"Y-yeah, she'd want us to continue." He told them, but the others could see that he still wasn't content.

"Let's sit vigil and then bury her before we make any decisions." Alderpaw suggested. They all worked together to lie Sandstorm's body onto the grass and then settled down around her.

"I know I'm not from ThunderClan, but I've seen how strong of a cat she was. Is it okay if I join you all?" Needlepaw asked.

"Of course." Asuna told her and then looked over at Alderpaw. "Alderpaw, that is okay, right? It's not against the warrior code?"

"It's fine." Alderpaw moved so that she could fit between the two medicine cats.

"I can't believe that this actually happened." Suguha meowed softly, looking down at Sandstorm's body.

"It's not fair. We've tried so hard to survive…and then Sandstorm died anyway." Sparkpaw said sorrowfully. For the rest of the night, the cats all stayed awake until the dawn finally arrived above them.

"Back in camp, the elders bury our dead Clanmates." Cherryfall explained. "Lelouch…do you mind…" Cherryfall looked over at where Nightheart was, but saw no sign of the she-cat's father next to her. "Nightheart, where's your father?"

"I think he took a small walk."

"Well that's a bit rude." Sparkpaw stated. "Molewhisker, Cherryfall, why don't you do it? Can I help?"

"What do you think? Should we wait for him?" Cherryfall asked her brother.

"I don't know. He's really taking Sandstorm's death hard. I don't think he has the strength to do it." Molewhisker replied. "Actually, we might not be the older ones here. Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, how old are you three."

"Well, I'm sure that cats age differently than a human, but for reference, I'm the eldest, followed by Kirito, and then Suguha." Asuna told them. "You three should bury her regardless. We don't want to mess up the procedure."

"What Asuna said. We won't mind at all." Suguha told them as she got up to her paws.

"Where are you going?" Kirito asked her.

"To find Lelouch. I saw where he was going."

"Don't you think he just needs some alone time?" Asuna suggested, but the pale ginger she-cat shook her head.

"With what's probably going through his mind, he'll need some talking to get back to his senses." She responded. Suguha began to follow the pawprints she found on the dirt that corresponded to where she saw Lelouch going as he left the vigil. She sniffed the air once she began to walk along the grass of the forest and once she picked up his scent, she followed it until she found him looking down at a puddle. She slowly walked towards him until her reflection appeared next to his.

"Suguha…what are you doing here?" He asked, turning his violet gaze to meet with her bright emerald green eyes.

"To help you. I know you're broken up by Sandstorm's passing. You're blaming it on yourself, aren't you?" He suddenly shifted his gaze away from her.

"Who else is there to blame? I couldn't protect her during a fox attack. It was my obligation to do so, and she's gone because of me."

"Lelouch…" Suguha didn't expect to see this side of the tom in front of him. She knew that he was kind and caring, but now he was completely broken. "It was a fox. With all the raving that went around about it, I'm assuming that it's impossible to take it on by yourself. You can't be blaming yourself over something that's impossible. If anything, you should be glad that you were able to protect Sandstorm and that she only received minor wounds. Don't forget that you got hurt yourself."

"It's just…it's not fair!" Lelouch swung a paw at the puddle, causing Suguha to flinch when small drops of water hit her face. "No cat was supposed to die on this journey, especially with the hell that we've been through! Why do we all deserve this? Sandstorm…she didn't deserve to die…"

"She knew where this journey was meant to take us, but none of us, even Sandstorm, knew the obstacles that we had to face in going there. Lelouch, we all know how noble of a cat you are. I haven't known you as long as the others, but throughout this journey, I've seen how selfless and how much of an amazing cat you are. It really hurts to see someone like that devastated, but we all know how you're feeling about this. Right now, we need you more than ever. Alderpaw's the leader of this group, but he looks up to you to give him advice. This won't mean much, but at least for me…please return to being the strong cat that I love to have gotten to know."

"Suguha…" Lelouch could see the she-cat's eyes begin to glisten, but he could tell that they were tears of passion, the she-cat pouring her soul out to help him feel better. _This is all too familiar. Just like when I was fighting the Dark Forest and I couldn't save Hollyleaf…there was someone to pick me back up._ "Thank you."

"Don't mention…" Suguha's eyes widened in shock as she felt Lelouch's mouth connect with hers in a kiss. _W-what?_ She didn't know how to react, but felt herself slowly ease into it. She didn't know where this came from all of a sudden, Suguha not expecting Lelouch to be the type of cat to just thank you with a kiss. Once he broke away, a huge blush formed on the she-cat's face, avoiding his violet eyes completely. Lelouch saw her embarrassment and smiled, but once he realized what he did, he could feel the fur on his face growing hot.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry Suguha! You just…reminded me of Ivypool…but I…oh god…" Lelouch kept trying to apologize, but he knew that now left a strange atmosphere between them both, the tom placing a paw on his face in embarrassment..

"N-no, it's okay, really. Y-you feel better, right?" She stammered, still astonished by the moment she shared with the tom.

"Y-yeah." He told her. "Listen, Suguha…I hope this doesn't make things weird between us."

"Don't worry. If you wanted to kiss me to feel better you should've just asked."

"No, that's not it at all!" He assured her, causing her to giggle. She saw his violet gaze touch hers and felt herself become uneasy.

"L-Lelouch?"

"Yes?" Suguha stayed silent for a while, causing the tom to worry. "Things are weird between us, aren't they?"

"No, it's not that! I just…sorry for not moving away during the kiss."

"It's fine. I-I don't mean to sound full of myself…but see it as a reward." A blush formed on the tom's face. "No, that sounds stupid! Forget that I said that. It was an accidental way to thank you."

"I didn't know you had that sort of side, Lelouch."

"I really don't! Just…you're an amazing cat, Suguha. I don't mind sharing a kiss with someone like that."

"Oh…well thank you for putting me up there with Ivypool, Lelouch. I didn't know you felt that way about me." She said, flustered by the tom's comment. "We should get back now. The others are worried about you."

"Right. I feel so bad walking out during Sandstorm's vigil."

"I'm sure the others understand, but then again, Sparkpaw did call you rude."

"Really? She's not wrong. I'll have to apologize to her and the others."

"I'm sure they'll forgive you, no problem." She assured them before walking back to their makeshift camp together. As they were walking, Suguha could feel her body slowly ease closer to Lelouch, almost brushing across his black coat. _I can't believe what I'm doing…Am I…really falling for Lelouch? I know he's originally a human like me, but…it's not right, especially since he has a family! I can't help it though! Everything I said about him I meant…but to him it just felt like a way to bring him back to his senses…which was the intention...and now after telling him all of that…I'm feeling a different way towards him. He…did call me amazing…so maybe he feels something towards me…but regardless, it's better than having feelings for Kirito!_

Once the two made it back, they saw that the others had gone hunting, prey between their paws. Asuna noticed the two return and waved a paw, causing the others to look in her direction to see them.

"Feeling better?" She asked as the two approached.

"Yeah. Sorry for leaving you all like that. I never should've disrespected Sandstorm like that by leaving during her vigil." He apologized. "Where did you bury her?"

"Over here." Cherryfall got up to guide the tom over to Sandstorm's burial site. Suguha got up to join the other two and looked down at the place where the she-cat was buried.

"I'm sure she's happy in StarClan. She's reunited with Firestar again." Lelouch said. "Suguha, I know I told you this already, but…thanks for helping me back there."

"It's the least I could do. I'm glad that you're back to your normal self." She replied, pressing her body closer to him so their coats touched. She could feel her face grow hot, but she saw no reaction from the tom next to her.

"We should go eat now. The sooner we do, the sooner we'll move forward."

"But, we don't even know if we're going to continue this journey."

"We can't let Sandstorm's death be for nothing. In my opinion, we should keep going."

"You're right. I hope the others agree." The two padded over to the circle of cats, Nightheart sharing some of her fresh kill with Lelouch, and Asuna sharing some of hers with Suguha. As they were eating, Alderpaw rose to his paws.

"Everyone, there's something I need to tell you." He began, but didn't speak once he got everyone's attention.

"Is something wrong, Alderpaw?" Asuna asked.

"N-no, it's just…this is about the vision I got that sent us on this journey. I saw a group of cats, but they were actually cats from SkyClan that need our help."

"I thought that there were only four Clans." Sparkpaw stated.

"I don't know much about them either other than the stuff Sandstorm and Bramblestar told me." He explained. "They told me that long ago, there used to be five Clans, but Twolegs took SkyClan's territory and the other Clans drove them out. They tried to settle in a gorge by a river, but their Clan withered and died out."

"That's terrible. So, are we responsible to bring them back to join the four other Clans?" Nightheart wondered.

"Wait, you said they died out, so who did you see?" Molewhisker asked.

"Firestar helped restore their Clan. He and Sandstorm went on a quest to rebuild SkyClan. When Sandstorm heard about my vision, she knew some of the cats I described."

"But now we can't get there because she's dead, right?" Suguha realized.

"Nope, she told Alderpaw where we need to go." Kirito told them, causing Alderpaw to look over at him.

"She told you that?"

"Wait…you talked to Sandstorm, Kirito?" Cherryfall asked, and the tom nodded.

"Yeah. I'm guessing she gave me the same pep talk that Suguha gave Lelouch." He said. "You blamed her death on yourself, right?" Lelouch nodded. "You're not the only one."

"She was right when she said you reminded her of Lelouch." Asuna said with a small laugh. "What else did she tell you, Kirito?"

"Well, I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Right now, I sort of stole Alderpaw's spotlight by telling you all he knew where we need to go."

"It's okay, Kirito." He assured him with a laugh. "He's right. Sandstorm did tell me where to go. If we travel towards the rising sun, we'll come to a river. Then, if we travel upstream, we'll find SkyClan in a gorge." He could see that some of his Clanmates were uneasy about what he told them.

"Why would the other Clans drive them out?" Nightheart questioned.

"It's a shameful part of the Clans' history, so no cat knows the whole truth except for Bramblestar now. I wasn't supposed to tell you all the truth, but…after Sandstorm's death, I thought it might be necessary to."

"We all appreciate you telling us the truth, Alderpaw. I'm sure you could've kept it a secret from us, but you made the choice a leader would make. I'm proud of you." Asuna told him, rubbing her cheek against Alderpaw's causing him to blush.

"I'm sure I speak for us all when I say that we're with you every step of the way, Alderpaw." Lelouch told him. "We all know that we can't let Sandstorm's death have been for nothing, so we have to go through with this until the very end. We now have a fifth Clan relying on us, so now's not the time to turn back."

"Yeah! Now's not the time to give up. We have an extra Clan to save." Sparkpaw told them with pride.

"Everyone…thank you…" Alderpaw could feel his eyes begin to glisten and he wiped them with a paw. He was overjoyed that everyone was now on the same page as he was. Things were beginning to look up. "Kirito, did Sandstorm tell you anything else vital to this journey?"

"Well, she gave me something. Check this out." Kirito slid a paw down and the others looked in awe as a menu appeared.

"Great, now I'm the only one who can't do that." Suguha said with a pout, swiping her paw down in front of her.

"So, what special power do you have?" Cherryfall asked.

"Well, now I can track cats that I know down, and I can do this…" Kirito looked around his inventory and with a few presses of his paw the others watched as a black aura covered his right paw and an aqua aura formed around his left, each as a point. "It's probably best if none of you touch me when my paws are like this.

"What is it, anyway?" Nightheart wondered.

"Back in SAO, I had the ability to dual wield swords, so now their power is in my paws when I activate it. Sandstorm said I'd need it."

"So, the danger isn't ending now, huh?" Molewhisker stated.

"Probably not, but we have to be vigilant." Alderpaw responded. "Wherever we're going, just know that we're never going to give in. We're going to finish this quest no matter what."


	7. Chapter 6: Mistake

Chapter 6: Mistake

 _"_ _It's the river! SkyClan's_ camp must be nearby!" Alderpaw exclaimed in joy as their journey finally brought them closer to SkyClan. It had been sunrises ever since Sandstorm died and Alderpaw told them all the truth about the quest they were on. The others looked down from the cliff they were on and saw the river that began to flow down the gorge.

"Hey, there's some cats over there." Kirito informed the others, watching as they slipped between boulders to get somewhere, while others were talking amongst each other.

"Do they look right, Alderpaw?" Needlepaw asked the medicine cat apprentice. "They don't look like they need help or anything."

"You're right. Maybe…maybe my thoughts about this vision was wrong."

"What? You're saying we were led all the way out here for nothing?" Sparkpaw yelled in anger.

"Sparkpaw, don't say that. We can't really tell from here if they need our help unless we attempt to talk with them…or at least get closer and see how they're doing." Asuna suggested.

"Agreed. Let's get going. First, we need to find a way down." As Needlepaw was walking, Molewhisker stepped in front of her.

"We can't just waltz in there. We don't know if we can trust them, and now that Sandstorm's not here, we have to way of appearing friendly towards them."

"Molewhisker, you raise a valid point, but how else are we going to find out the answers we need? The only choice we have is moving forward, just like we've been doing." Lelouch responded. "Alderpaw wouldn't have envisioned those cats if they didn't hold some significance." Alderpaw let out a smile at the older tom's understanding of this situation.

"He does have a point. We didn't just make this journey for nothing, Molewhisker." Cherryfall told her brother.

"Right, sorry. I guess I'm just worried about the outcome of this all."

"It's a normal feeling to have, especially with a journey such as this one that means so much." Nightheart assured him. "I guess now we just look for a way down."

"Over here." Kirito stood near a path that led down to the gorge, hugging the cliff.

"Is that the only way down? Is there, you know, any way down that doesn't have the risk of falling off?" Suguha asked him.

"You're worrying too much. The path's big enough for you to just stay near the wall of the cliff." He assured his cousin.

"C'mon Alderpaw, let's get going down there. Just follow my lead." Alderpaw followed the ShadowClan apprentice down the cliff, the others trailing behind them.

"I can't believe he's following that stupid ShadowClan furball!" Sparkpaw muttered.

"Sounds like someone's a bit jealous." Kirito responded, causing the ThunderClan apprentice to blush.

"No I'm not! I just know that him following her all the time is a bad idea. He's going to get hurt one of these times."

"You have nothing to worry about, Sparkpaw. Needlepaw's honestly just trying to help us out on this journey. Her heart's in the right place." Asuna replied. "I know it's been hard for you, but you should try getting along with her." Sparkpaw scoffed at the idea, causing Asuna to roll her eyes. As the group was walking, they heard a yowl from below and saw a gray tom staring straight at the group. Now, three other SkyClan cats joined the tom and began to approach the group.

"That doesn't look good." Nightheart stated.

"We'll be fine. This was going to happen one way or another." Lelouch assured the group.

"Yeah, but why'd it have to be while we're walking down this cliff?" Suguha whined.

"Everyone stop." Alderpaw commanded. "We'll wait for them to come to us. Remember, we're not here to fight." As the SkyClan cats approached, Lelouch made his way to join Alderpaw to assist with any questions coming from the SkyClan cats. The gray tom stood nose to nose with Alderpaw, the tom's green gaze sending shivers through the apprentice.

"You're way outnumbered if you've come to take our territory." He began. Alderpaw looked over at Lelouch, and once his violet gaze noticed his amber eyes, the black tom nodded his head.

"We're not here for your territory. We've come a long way to meet you cats, the cats of SkyClan. We mean no harm." Lelouch responded.

"What do you know about SkyClan?" The tom asked, tilting his head.

"W-we're just here to learn more." Alderpaw spoke, his voice shaky.

"Then you should speak to our leader. Come." As Alderpaw began to walk, he was stopped by Sparkpaw.

"Are you sure about this?" She whispered. Alderpaw was furious about how much his sister doubted him during this journey, but he didn't want to say anything.

"We were sent on this journey from our own father. Wherever it leads, must be right." He replied before catching up to Lelouch. Once he caught up to the tom, he heard pawsteps approaching and saw that they were from Needlepaw.

"So…what's your name?" The gray tom turned around at the new voice and then turned his head back.

"Rain." _That's it? I guess they do names differently here._ Alderpaw thought before he noticed Needlepaw walk next to Rain and chat with him. The group walked up the pile of rocks near where the river gushed out and Alderpaw noticed a muscular white tom up at the base of the pile, who seemed like the leader. _It can't be…That's not the leader I saw in my vision._

"Is it me, or are there more cats just appearing around us?" Kirito asked as he cause d the others to look around and notice the same thing.

"They're wary of our presence." Suguha stated.

"Well they have been separated from the other Clans, so they must not see many cats other than their Clanmates." Asuna added. They watched the white tom approach the group, a scornful look on his face.

"It looks like you found some lost kittens, Rain." Alderpaw could sense his Clanmates tense up in anger at the insult.

"Calm down, we need to know more." He told them with a whisper.

"Darktail, these strangers say that they've come from afar and are looking for SkyClan."

"What do you cats want with SkyClan?"

"We're from ThunderClan, and we're here to find SkyClan." Lelouch answered.

"Why?"

Alderpaw wasn't sure of a concrete answer to give. He'd hope that they would be fine without much questions, assuming that SkyClan cats shared their stories about Firestar coming to save them with Sandstorm. "Because…every Clan's survival depends on us working together."

"So…you're asking my cats and I to come to this…ThunderClan?" Alderpaw slowly nodded his head, unsure if they actually needed these cats to come with them. Maybe they just needed to learn something from them, or maybe just one of them was actually needed. Regardless, he wasn't even sure if StarClan meant for him to believe that SkyClan was what they needed to "embrace" or if they were needed for something else.

"Do you need our help?"

"No, not with a fight or anything." Alderpaw replied. Darktail then gave Alderpaw a nod.

"I'm impressed. You and your friends have made the long journey here, but you can't expect us to leave our territory just due to the whim of strangers.

"How about we stay with you for a bit…to build trust." Suguha suggested. Alderpaw looked back at her with a small smile. He had no other idea, but Suguha's idea seemed reasonable. Darktail looked at each of them, his icy blue gaze turning to each foreign cat before looking back at Alderpaw.

"Very well. Rain, show them where they'll be staying."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After one day of staying in SkyClan, the group decided that they'd go out and hunt for themselves. They couldn't stand attempting to join SkyClan in their ways of how food was distributed. Once the hunters brought the food, Darktail and Rain would pick what they wanted, but after that the cats would fight for it, some even going without food due to being weaker than the others. They also seemed to have no medicine cat, or idea about herbs for that matter, Alderpaw and Asuna both helping Darktail by explaining a few cures for aliments. As much as they didn't want to admit it, they wanted to leave the gorge as soon as possible.

"Hey, it looks like there's a forest on the other side of the river. Let's go over there." Cherryfall suggested. A few SkyClan cats watched the others go, but they didn't seem to care. Cherryfall headed out with Molewhisker, Kirito went out with Asuna and Needlepaw, and Lelouch, Nightheart, and Sparkpaw went out hunting together, leaving Alderpaw with Suguha.

"Did you not want to go out hunting, Suguha?" Alderpaw asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Alderpaw let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, right. All I'm good for is practicing. I can't hunt even if all of ThunderClan depended on it. I was just going to go out and practice by myself to stay out of the way."

"Let me come with you, please?" Alderpaw let out a smile and nodded his head. The two began walking in the forest in search of prey, but so far, they didn't see any. "Alderpaw…I don't mean to hurt you by saying this, but…are these really the cats that we're meant to help?"

"I don't even know myself. I'm starting to doubt this all as well. The way they push their kits and elders around…I don't even know if there's any hope for them…but I don't want to let everyone down."

"You won't let anyone down, Alderpaw. We all know how hard you've been trying this entire journey, and I'm positive everyone back in ThunderClan feels the same way." She assured him with a small lick, causing him to blush. "Sorry! Isn't that what some cats do in a friendly way or something?"

"Y-yeah, it's fine, Suguha. I just…stuff that comes from you really means more than you might think. I really…appreciate it all. You, Asuna, and Kirito are so nice to mean. That's not to say that the others aren't…but to think we haven't even know each other for a moon and you three are just…amazing, to say the least."

"It's not that hard to be nice to cats who make us feel at home in a world that isn't ours. We're glad to be part of the family that ThunderClan has." She looked over at a nearby tree and saw a thrush on the forest floor. "Alderpaw, there's a thrush over there. Why don't you try and get it?"

"It'd be better if you did. We both know I'm going to fail." He responded.

"You won't know until you try." She responded, causing him to let out a sigh. He got into a hunter's crouch and slowly crept up on it when suddenly, out of the bushes, another cat leaped forward out of a bush to catch it, missing by a mouse-length, plopping onto the ground.

"It's your fault that I missed it. I was already stalking it before you and your friend arrived." As the tom complained, Alderpaw stood there, frozen, his gaze fixated on the cat. "Hey, is your friend okay?" Suguha walked over to Alderpaw and saw his unfazed gaze on the cat.

"Alderpaw, are you alright?" He shook his head and let out a sigh.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just…" Alderpaw leaned over to her ear. "This is one of the cats I saw in my vision. He looked more healthy thought."

"Really? You should talk to him." She replied. Alderpaw looked over at the tom, who was not even more confused by the whispering conversation the two cats shared.

"Who are you, exactly?"

"My name's Mistfeather. Why do you ask?"

"Hi, I'm Alderpaw, and this is Suguha. I'm from ThunderClan, but she's..."

"Wait…ThunderClan! You must know Firestar then! I wasn't born when he came, but I always heard the story about him when I was young. He was the cat we honored the most."

"What are you doing out here all by yourself, Mistfeather? From what it looks like, SkyClan must've exiled you." Suguha guessed, but he shook his head.

"Was I exiled? Think again: it was all of SkyClan that was!" The two stared at the SkyClan warrior in disbelief. "I bet you've met those flea-pelts in the gorge, huh? They made you think that they were SkyClan? They're just savage rouges that drove out the rest of SkyClan and took our territory."

"That explains why they act the way they do. At least that's a relief…but what happened to SkyClan is terrible." Suguha stated.

"Where did the rouges come from?" Alderpaw asked. _Maybe this means we still need to help whatever's left of SkyClan. I don't know how to feel about this news though._

"I don't know. All I know is that they're evil!"

"Was your Clan not enough to fight back?" Alderpaw wondered.

"We had as much daylight warriors in our Clan than cats that lived in SkyClan, so it wasn't an easy fight."

"What's a daylight warrior, Alderpaw?" Suguha asked.

"It's the first time I've heard it as well."

"They're cats who come train and hunt with the warriors in the morning, but then return to their Twolegs at night."

"Wait, you let kittypets into your Clan?" Alderpaw said in disbelief.

"Wasn't Firestar a kittypet too? Why do you seem so disgusted by that, Alderpaw?"

"He's different, Suguha." The she-cat just shrugged the apprentice's sudden anger off and allowed Mistfeather to continue speaking.

"It worked for us, but those rouges attacked at night and we were easily outnumbered. It's hard to fight when you want to protect your Clanmates and not kill your enemies, but they believe otherwise so they easily defeated us."

"How about the rest of your Clan?" Suguha said.

"We all scattered around once we lost I'm not sure how many of them survived. I'm the only one here…because my mate died in that battle. I want to stay where she died instead of looking for somewhere else to live."

"That's so sweet…I'm so sorry about what happened to you and SkyClan, Mistfeather."

"Those cats are just rouges who attacked a vulnerable Clan. They're cowards!" Alderpaw hit a paw on the ground.

"Would you like to turn around and tell me that?" Alderpaw and Suguha turned around to see Darktail a fox-length away from them. "It seems you've found one of the scums of the gorge, and it sounds like you're plotting against us."

"Scum? The only scum here is you and the other cats who stole our territory!" Mistfeather rose his weak back and let out a hiss.

"Territory belongs to those strong enough to defend it, or in this case; take it." Darktail growled. "Do you want to fight me for the territory? Give me your best shot."

"Gladly." Suguha and Alderpaw tried to intervene, but Mistfeather stopped them with his tail. "A fight is a fight." The two cats watched as Mistfeather leaped forward, but Darktail avoided his attack and slid his claws down the back of Mistfeather's head.

"You'll need to be faster than that." Darktail taunted. The two watched in horror as the rouge was just toying around with the SkyClan warrior, easily avoiding his attacks and landing blow after blow on him. Blood soon began to trickle down Mistfeather's body as he panted for his breath and soon fell to the ground. Darktail walked over to Mistfeather and scoffed. "You should've stayed away all this time." He raised a paw up, ready to land the final blow.

"Stop!" Without thinking, Suguha leaped towards the tom, who quickly turned and swiped a paw at her face, creating a wound on her left cheek.

"Suguha!" Alderpaw ran over to her and looked over her wound. He was relieved that she moved her head back quick enough to only sustain a shallow wound, but he couldn't help but begin to cry at the thought of her being severely wounded. Suguha was glad that Alderpaw was focused on her so that he didn't watch as Darktail slashed Mistfeather's throat open, his blood now splattering the forest floor. "I'm glad…that you're okay…"

"I'm fine. Please, just look at me. Don't turn around." Alderpaw's eyes widened as he put the pieces together quickly to realize that Mistfeather was now dead. He disregarded her order and looked down at the SkyClan cat, watching as Darktail approached. Alderpaw couldn't believe what had just occurred. _Instead of bringing us to find an answer…did I bring us here to die?_

"I could just kill you both right here, especially you." He pushed Suguha, causing her to flinch. "I'll see what I do with you and your friends. Both of you get up and follow me." Alderpaw got up and stood near Suguha, offering to help her, but she got back on her paws by herself. Darktail walked behind the two and guided them back to camp. "Keep moving." He gave Suguha a small shove forward, causing her to stumble a bit, but she regained her footing.

"You don't need to push her around like that." Alderpaw said with a growl.

"No, Alderpaw, it's okay." Suguha insisted, not wanting any more tension to form between them and the rouge leader. "Just…take us back and we'll leave."

"Leave? Your group is allied with SkyClan. You'll just come with those daylight-warriors and try to take over." The two knew his accusation was wrong, but they weren't surprised that he believed it to be that way. They walked the rest of the way in silence and once they got back, they saw that the rest of their group had returned as well. Darktail pushed the two into the circle surrounded by the rouges, causing the rest of the ThunderClan cats to join with them.

"What's going on here?" Molewhisker asked. "Suguha…what happened to you?" The she-cat remained silent and they turned their attention to Darktail once he made his way to the bottom of the rocks where his followers gave him his undivided attention.

"I found these two pathetic cats chatting with a SkyClan cat in the forest. It's obvious that they're working with what's left of them to steal away our home."

"Steal? If you're not SkyClan cats, you're the ones to talk!" Kirito retorted.

"I can't believe this. They're not SkyClan cats. We should've known." Cherryfall murmured.

"You're being delusional. We haven't even heard of SkyClan. Plus, we live far away from here!" Needlepaw exclaimed.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Darktail challenged.

"No, but I'm just saying that this is all a bad coincidence. These two weren't trying to do anything bad." Silence filled the air, and a black she-cat, Raven, walked over to Darktail.

"We don't know if we can trust them. What they told us can't be true. None of us believe it." She advised the leader. Darktail sat there in thought for a while until he finally spoke.

"I can't just let you all leave after what happened."

"What? You can't just keep us here if we don't want to!" Sparkpaw complained.

"She's right! You're not making this easy for any of us if you don't just let us go." Kirito added.

"Kirito, what are you doing? Shush!" Asuna whispered over to him.

"Not making this easy? Look around you. I don't see how you can't tell that you're outnumbered." Darktail stated.

"Numbers mean nothing if you don't have the skill to back it up!" Kirito spat.

"Is that a challenge? Your friends don't seem to hold the same attitude." The group of rouges slowly began to close in on the group.

"Kirito, I'm not sure what you're thinking, but it's not a good idea. We can't be this reckless." Lelouch told him as they began to try and step away from the group.

"How else are we going to escape? Sandstorm told me that I was able to use my powers from SAO for a reason, and with you all, I think we can easily win." He assured them.

"A-are you sure about this, Kirito?" Nightheart asked him.

"Don't go worrying on me now, Nightheart. We can beat them, I know it."

"At this point, you've pushed us into a battle and there's no turning back." Cherryfall meowed. "StarClan please let us get back to ThunderClan in piece!"

"We have no other choice. We fight close to at least one other cat if we need assistance. Remember, we don't kill unless it's absolutely necessary. Everyone understand?" Lelouch commanded, and the others nodded. He knew out of everyone, he was worried about Alderpaw the most. _I'll have to try and keep an eye on him mostly, but the same goes for Sparkpaw and Needlepaw._ "Great…attack now!" The group rushed into the fray of rouges surrounding them. Kirito leaped into the air towards one group of cats, Asuna sprinting towards the same group. Once she saw the cat Kirito targeted, she immediately lunged towards one of the nearby toms, knocking him away. Having him pinned, Asuna began to slash at him belly, causing him to yowl in pain, until a she-cat pushed her off. As she got up, she saw that four cats were now surrounding her. As they approached, Kirito broke through and joined Asuna in the middle of the circle.

"I really hope you're regretting getting us into this mess." Asuna told him. "You haven't even been using your sword skills yet?"

"I'm saving it for when it's necessary. I already defeated a few with ease. I guess I catch on quick." More cats began to surround the two, Kirito looking behind him. "We kick the ones behind us with our hindpaws and then lunge towards the ones in front of us, deal?"

"Got it." The two waited, until altogether, the cats ran towards them. With swift kicks of their hindpaws, they were able to knock two of the cats away, and then tackled the ones in front of them. Kirito quickly turned to slash his claws at the cat at his right, but then saw that Asuna had two cats jump on her, knocking her to the ground, scratching and biting into her coat.

"Asuna!" She began to kick some off of her, but Kirito rushed in and tackled some off, causing fur to be ripped off of her pelt. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…behind you!" Swiftly, the black tom turned around to smack an unsheathed paw across the rouge's face, knocking him to the ground. They then watched as they became surrounded again.

"This is going to become a recurring thing, isn't it?"

"Can you stop talking at least once while we're fighting?" She asked, causing him to smirk.

"Gladly."

On the other side of the gorge, Suguha joined Alderpaw, Sparkpaw, and Needlepaw in their fight against the rouges. Luckily they seemed to underestimate the four, but when other cats saw this, they joined up, giving them a harder time.

"How are you three doing?" Suguha asked them. "Alderpaw, you have a small cut on your ear."

"I know, but it's fine, I promise." He assured her.

"How about you two?" She asked the two she-cat apprentices.

"Never better. This is really fun." Needlepaw responded with a smile.

"I'm okay. Better than this one over here." Sparkpaw said, glaring over at the ShadowClan apprentice.

"Yeah, yeah, less talking, more fighting!" Needlepaw leaped on the back of one of the rouges and bit into his neck, while Sparkpaw ran towards him and rammed into his paws, knocking him down. "Really, I had him!"

"Please, you couldn't have taken him down alone."

"Can you both just get along for this once?" Alderpaw told them, but as his attention was turned away from the fight, Rain leaped towards him, pinning him to the ground.

"Alderpaw!" Lelouch called out, turning Suguha's attention towards the apprentice who was now on the ground.

"Lelouch, just focus on your fight. I'll protect him!" She assured the tom. As she was running towards Rain, Suguha was blindsided by a gray she-cat.

"Where do you think you're going?" As the she-cat began to throw blows at Suguha, she used her own paws to swat away her attacks as best as she could, but wasn't quick enough for some of them, the injuries on her face showing that. _I have to look for an opening._ She told herself, trying to remember the speed of her attacker's strikes. Once she understood the attack pattern, she waited for the she-cat to pull off one more attack before fiercely striking her in the face and kicking her off. Suguha got up as quick as she could and immediately leaped onto Rain's back, digging her claws into his neck deep enough to cause him to get off of Alderpaw. Rain viciously shook his body to get Suguha off, swaying the she-cat back and forth until he finally sent her towards one of the gorge's walls, causing her to lose her breath and fall to the ground.

"Suguha!" Alderpaw ran over to her and examined her body. "No…please don't tell me that you're dead. I can't live with myself knowing that!" He placed a paw on her stomach and could slowly feel it move, causing him to sigh in relief.

"Alderpaw…you're fine…right?"

"Don't talk. I'll make sure to protect you, I promise." Alderpaw turned around to see three cats approaching them, one of them being Rain.

"That's it! I'm done messing around! You both are going to die, right now!" From their side, Molewhisker and Cherryfall leaped towards two of the cats, pinning them to the ground. Rain looked back at the two and scoffed before turning his attention back towards Alderpaw. "You're lucky I didn't kill you and your friends when you first got here…but I guess fate just chose for me to kill you now." Alderpaw didn't know what he was going to do. He knew he had to fight, but he couldn't even move. Suddenly, both Sparkpaw and Needlepaw leaped onto Rain's back, bringing him down to the gorge's rocky floor. They immediately moved off of him and began to batter the tom's face with quick, deft paw strikes until they saw he began to bleed.

"Stop it you two! He's had enough." They looked down at the tom and saw that he had lost consciousness.

"Great work you two." Molewhisker told them after he and his sister finished with the two other rouges.

"How'd you two get over here?"

"Look over there." Cherryfall pointed with a paw. They saw that over on their side of the gorge, there were only the bodies of defeated cats, while the rest of the fighting cats had Kirito, Asuna, Nightheart, and Lelouch surrounded. Alderpaw looked around and noticed that Darktail was still standing at the side of the rock, watching his cats fight. _He's a coward!_ _How can he watch his fellow allies fall in battle?_ He then turned back to Suguha to look at her wounds.

"Can some of you keep watch while I look over her?"

"Yeah." Molewhisker looked over at the rest of the cats and saw that for the most part, the ones that seemed to be defeated were the weaker cats who looked unfit for battle, along with some of the healthier ones.

"It doesn't look like they're going to come over here to fight us." Sparkpaw stated.

"Maybe it's because there's more of us here than the four they currently have surrounded." Cherryfall guessed. We'll jump in when we see that they're in trouble, but right now, Molewhisker and I are going to protect you four just in case."

Surrounded by the rest of Darktail's rouges, Lelouch, Nightheart, Asuna, and Kirito each looked after one another as each cat continued coming after they'd knock them away.

"Lelouch, can't you just use your Geass to tell them to get away from us?" Kirito asked as he pushed a rouge back and sidestepped another.

"You think I didn't realize that? I can't keep my eyes on any of them if they keep recklessly charging at me." He responded before leaping towards one cat, pinning him to the ground. His violet eyes changed as he readied his Geass, and as he was about to give a command, two rouges leaped towards him, but Nightheart jumped into the air and knocked them away, giving him time. "Leave this gorge right now, and return once the fight's over." Once he saw the red ring around the rouge's eyes, he got off and the other rouges watched as the cat left.

"Where are you going?" Darktail yelled before letting out an irritated snarl. "Everyone, attack the violet-eyed tom! Forget about the others!" Kirito watched as the cats around him ran past him and headed over to where Lelouch was. He and Asuna tried to knock them aside, but they couldn't concentrate on them all.

"Father, we have to fight through this all!" Nightheart stated as both she and Lelouch tried to knock the other cats away. Nightheart suddenly felt a cat bite on her scruff and felt herself being flung through the air, leaving her father surrounded by the rouges. "No!" Nightheart leaped into the crowd of cats, but continued to get pushed off, the impacts of her body hitting the stone floor leaving her sore. Both Asuna and Kirito suffered the same fate as she did, and they watched as they all began to attack Lelouch, but they saw that some of the cats were also being knocked back for a while, but once that stopped, they knew something had to be done.

"Asuna, Nightheart, I'm going to save him." Kirito quickly swiped his paw down to open his SAO menu and quickly selected dual wielding. The black and aqua aura formed on his paws and without hesitation, Kirito ran into the group, slashing each one on the outside of the circle down until he broke through and saw the cats on top of Lelouch. He began to swipe his paws at the backs of the cats, causing them to cry out in pain as they moved off of the tom. He saw that Lelouch had claw scratches and bites all over his body, blood dripping onto the floor beneath them.

"Thanks…Kirito." Lelouch said as he slowly got back to his paws.

"Don't mention it. Can you still fight? I took a few down already."

"I think I can manage." He responded. Kirito wasted no time and charged towards the cats, swinging his aura-infused paws aimlessly as he began to use his Starburst Stream sword skill, ignoring any sort of pain inflicted to him from attacks from his blind spots. He swung his right paw horizontally, knocking back any cat in front of him, before swiftly turning around and attacking the ones behind him. He pivoted back forward and slashed forward in an x formation before leaping into the air and performing a downwards cross slash, knocking out any cat that was caught in the attack. Once he got to his paws he instantly continued the combo, adding uppercuts with his paws, along with diagonal slashes. Seeing only two more cats around him, he smirked and jabbed one paw forward to take out one of them, and then thrust his other paw forward to defeat the last one. He looked around and saw that no other rouge was standing.

"We did it…it's finally over." Kirito stated, letting out a sigh of relief as he unequipped his special aura.

"Kirito, watch out!" Nightheart exclaimed as she saw Darktail leap down from above, his claws unsheathed, aiming for the tom's neck. Kirito turned around to see the white tom, but couldn't raise a paw in time to swipe back. _If I die here…is that it? I never kept that in my mind, but now…it's all I'm thinking about._

"No, Kirito!" Asuna screamed as she watched Darktail's claws inch closer and closer to his neck. The rest of the cats watched as a red aura surrounded Kirito, stopping Darktail's claws from reaching his throat. A sudden breath escaped Nightheart's mouth before she collapsed to the ground, coughing, blood escaping from her mouth. Seeing that Darktail was distracted, Kirito rolled over so that he was now on top of Darktail. A yellow aura surrounded his right forepaw and Kirito thrust it into Darktail's body, causing him to gasp for air before his eyes closed. Kirito panted for his breath, but looked down at his paw and still saw the red aura around it, along with the rest of him body. _Where did it come from?_ He wondered.

"Nightheart, are you okay?" Asuna asked the black she-cat. Kirito saw her and ran over so that he was standing next to Asuna and Lelouch.

"Nightheart, open your eyes! Please!" Lelouch begged as he saw his daughter slowly begin to breathe.

"Asuna, she has to be okay, right?" Kirito quickly spoke, worry filling his mind, but he was then relieved when he heard Nightheart's voice.

"K-Kirito…you're okay...I'm glad…"

"Nightheart, don't talk…you're not…" Kirito's eyes widened in shock when he saw that he was now looking into a pair of eyes, one being filled with the power of Geass.


	8. Chapter 7: Gone

Chapter 7: Gone

 _The rest of the group_ all looked down at the phenomenon that was now encompassed inside of Nightheart's right eye. Lelouch looked down at his daughter in shock.

"Geass…that's impossible…It's not something that's passed down genetically…" Lelouch looked over at Kirito and saw that his body began to tremble as he also realized what happened.

 _Nightheart…she's the one…the aura came from her…but she didn't need to risk her life to save me!_ Tears began to glisten in his eyes and slowly drop down onto her black fur.

"So…Kirito survived…because Nightheart's Geass?" Cherryfall asked.

"That's…what I'm believing. My Geass has the power to command…but I think Nightheart has the power to protect…" Lelouch softly spoke, looking down at his daughter who was in a critical condition. "All Geass have their drawbacks…and Nightheart's…must be to take the damage of the person she used it on…"

"Nightheart, why?! Why risk your life to save mine?" Kirito yelled. "Coming to this world, all I've done is make mistakes! I put us in this fight, and...now you're dying…because of me. Why would you save me?" A small smile formed on Nightheart's face and Kirito watched her right eye return to normal.

"Because…I couldn't…bear seeing you die, Kirito. I didn't know…that I had this power…but…I'm glad…" Nightheart winced in pain. "I'm glad that…you're still alive...Kirito. I…didn't want to…let others lose you. They can experience…the moments we've had too."

"But…what about you? Your father just came back into your life and now…because of me…" Kirito was still at a loss for words regarding the she-cat's sacrifice.

"Being…able to meet him…made me happy." She looked over at Lelouch, who was in the same state Kirito was in. "Father…I'm sorry that…this happened…but…I love him…"

"It's okay, Nightheart…I know how happy you were spending time with him…" Nightheart then looked over at Asuna.

"Asuna…I…know it's wrong…but…" Asuna shook her head.

"No…it's okay, Nightheart…I'm not mad at all…how could I be? I'm happy that he makes you feel that way."

"I'm glad…that you feel that way…" She let out another cough, more blood escaping from her mouth. "Father…tell mother that…I'm thankful for everything…she's done…for me."

"You can tell her that yourself…Nightheart, I'm not going to lose you! Not here!" Lelouch activated his Geass and looked into his daughter's partly closed eyes. "Nightheart…don't die…please…" The red outline appeared around her eyes, but he watched as they slowly began to close and her head rested slowly on the floor below. The others all looked at Nightheart's lifeless body, tears falling from each of their eyes. "You…" Lelouch slowly turned his gaze over to Kirito and lunged towards him, pinning him down to the ground, Kirito not struggling to escape the tom's grasp. "Nightheart's dead because of you! If we didn't fight, none of this would've happened!"

"Lelouch, get off of him!" Molewhisker yelled, trying to pull the tom off of Kirito. Asuna ran over to help, and once they got him off, Lelouch panted for his breath.

"Please don't take your sadness out on Kirito, Lelouch. He's as devastated as you are!" Asuna told him, looking over at Kirito, who was still crying over Nightheart's death.

"I…just…I…" Asuna watched as the tom's eyes slowly closed and his body rocked back and forth, Asuna moving next to him to break his fall.

"This is all my fault…if StarClan didn't give me that stupid vision!" Alderpaw smacked a paw on the ground. "Sandstorm…and Nightheart would still be alive…"

"Alderpaw…you were just doing what you thought was right." Suguha assured him.

"She's right. A message from StarClan has to mean something important, and that's why we went on this journey." Needlepaw added.

"Hey, I know I don't want to break any of this up…but we should get out of here. We don't know when these rouges will wake up." Molewhisker stated. "Cherryfall, can you help me carry Lelouch?" He asked his sister. "Suguha, Asuna, can you carry Nightheart?"

"Yeah." As Asuna looked down at Nightheart's body, her hazel eyes began to glow and she let out a small gasp.

"What is it, Asuna?" Suguha asked.

"Nightheart…she's still alive!"

"What?" Sparkpaw walked over to her, but couldn't tell if the she-cat was alive. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. From what I'm looking at, she's unconscious…just like Lelouch."

"But…the way she sounded…can we trust your power, Asuna?" Cherryfall asked.

"I hope so. Let's just get away from this place and head back to ThunderClan." She told them.

"But…the quest…" Sparkpaw meowed. "We need to find SkyClan."

"How can you say that with what just happened?" Alderpaw asked his littermate. "We can't stay anywhere near here. I'm not putting our lives in danger again. This quest…it was a complete failure. We just need to get back home safely now. That's all that matters to me." He could see that his sister wasn't expecting that reaction from him, causing him to sigh. "Let's get out of here." As the others exited the gorge, they noticed that Kirito didn't move from where he was, causing the others to worry.

"Suguha, can you carry Nightheart by yourself?" Asuna asked her.

"Asuna, I can help carry her with Suguha." Alderpaw offered.

"We all can, right, Sparkpaw?" Needlepaw stated, causing Asuna to smile.

"Thank you, you three." Asuna padded over to Kirito, while the others continued their journey. She could feel her heart sink when she realized that this was the most distraught that she had ever seen him. "Hey…we need to get going back to ThunderClan. Did you hear the news? Nightheart's still alive." Still, the tom stayed silent. "I know it's hard for you, but I'm sure she's going to be okay."

"How can you be sure?" He muttered inaudibly.

"What?"

"How can you be sure, Asuna? The way she sounded…how is it possible?" Asuna shook her head.

"I don't know. When I looked at her, my scanning ability didn't say she was dead." She swiped open her inventory and a stalk of marigold appeared.

"I don't need it, Asuna." Kirito told her. "Save it for the others who are wounded."

"Do you not see yourself? Your wounds need to be tended to."

"I don't deserve it, Asuna, okay?" He yelled, causing the she-cat to flinch. "I…don't deserve it…" Asuna didn't know how to get through to Kirito any more. She was worried about him and his well-being.

"Will you at least leave this gorge with me? We need to get far away from here as possible before any of them wake up."

"Maybe…it's best if I stay here…and let them kill me…" Asuna's hazel eyes began to glisten. She raised a paw up and swung it across Kirito's face.

"Do you think Nightheart risked her life just to have you throw yours away like that!? Kirito…Nightheart loves you…You can't just throw away her affection by killing yourself. You're going to hurt her even more if she wakes up and realizes that you're no longer there! Please, just stop trying to punish yourself!"

"Why should I if I deserve it!? Lelouch had every right to be mad at me. Losing his friendship isn't enough of a punishment…"

"Do you even hear yourself right now? I know I said it already…but at least for Nightheart, please try to keep on living." She could see tears fall from Kirito's eyes.

"Asuna…I'm sorry…but…I love her too. I just…want to be able to tell her that…"

"It's okay, I know you do. I'm not mad about it at all. You both have spent a lot of time together…which is why I don't understand why you're so keen on throwing away the life she let you continue living. Kirito, I know we've been through a lot…but after what Nightheart did…how can I be mad if you both love each other?" She gave him a comforting lick on the forehead. "You'll be able to tell her how you feel once we figure out what's going on."

"Right…"

"Are you ready to leave now?" Kirito nodded, but Asuna could see that he was still troubled about everything. "Okay, just follow me. The others are probably pretty far by now."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Moonlight filled the sky, Nightheart lying down on a grassy plain, alone. She slowly opened her eyes and got up, looking around for any of the others, but she didn't see any other cat around. _Wh-where am I? Is this StarClan? It must be…but why am I all alone?_ Nightheart swiftly turned around at the sound of rustling at the edge of the plain where a forest began. She watched as a Twoleg emerged and she slowly began to back away. _What's a Twoleg doing here?!_

"Nightheart, there's no need to run away." _Wait…does it know my name? From the sound it's a female._ "I need you to come over here, please. It has to do with your father." _Father! She knows about him? Is he in trouble?_ Nightheart slowly padded over to the Twoleg and once she was close enough, she petted her.

"What are you doing?"

"Right, sorry if it's making you uncomfortable." Nightheart looked up at the Twoleg in front of her.

"Wait…you can understand me?"

"Yes, but don't think all Twolegs can do that. I'm a special case." She responded. "Oh, I should introduce myself. My name is C.C., I'm a very close friend of your father's."

"I don't think he's ever told me about you, but it's nice to meet you…albeit a bit strange since you're a Twoleg." C.C. let out a giggle.

"I guess that's understandable. You must be wondering what you're doing here. To assure you, this isn't StarClan."

"It's not? Then where are we?"

"It's difficult to explain, but I guess you can say it's like StarClan." She responded. "Follow me." Nightheart followed C.C. into the forest, still unsure about where they were going.

"So…how do you know my father?"

"Well, we met back where he's originally from. I was the one who gave him the power of Geass." Nightheart stopped, causing C.C. to look back at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Do you know why I'm able to use it as well?"

"Sadly, I'm unsure myself as to why Geass has manifested in your eyes, as well as giving you that type of Geass. Usually it's granted by someone, such as myself, but you must be a special case. The only reasoning I can think of which is unheard of is that Lelouch somehow passed down the power of Geass to you. Again, that is just a speculation."

"I guess that makes sense. I'm glad it helped me protect Kirito…but…you told me that this isn't StarClan, so…did I survive my injuries?"

"In a way, yes and no. Your Geass' repercussion is that you sustain any injuries that the person you're protecting would've taken otherwise. The injury should've killed you...but…I'll explain once we get to where we need to be." The two trekked through the forest for a few more minutes until they reached a small clearing, a crystal being in the center of it. Once they got close, Nightheart was able to see that a Twoleg was trapped inside and it looked like they were in a deep slumber.

"Who is that?"

"Nightheart, this is your father."

"It…is? I guess I have to remember that he's not originally a cat. What's he doing in there?"

"He's the reason you're still alive. I had talked to him before talking to you and I'm not sure if you remember, but your father used his Geass on you to command you not to die. This wouldn't work under any normal circumstance, but since you have Geass, it worked, but only if Lelouch sacrificed his own life to save yours."

"No…my father's…going to die because of me?" Nightheart could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Oh father…I love you so much!"

"Nightheart, there's no need to cry. Lelouch sacrificed his life, but he's still alive, but for the time being, he's trapped in that crystal."

"You mean…I'll get to spend time with him again?" C.C. nodded her head. "Oh thank StarClan! Oh, I should be thanking you, shouldn't I, C.C.?"

"In a way, but this whole crystal thing…I didn't know it was going to occur. That's still a mystery."

"So you don't know how to get him out of there?"

"Unfortunately. For the time being, his body will remain unconscious, but after this all, you'll wake up and I'm sure the others will be more than happy to see that you're okay, especially a certain tom." Nightheart blushed at her comment. "Spottedleaf and I will do our best to keep you all updated if anything comes up."

"Spottedleaf? ThunderClan's medicine cat from long ago?"

"Yes. I'm not sure where she is right now, but she also helps me when communicating with cats. There are some messages that StarClan don't get that we tell cats, but usually it's ones from other worlds."

"So…I must be special, huh?" C.C. softly groomed the she-cat.

"More than you think, Nightheart." The black cat looked up at the crystal and let out a breath.

"Father, I promise that we'll find out how to wake you up."

"Speaking of which, I think it's time for you to wake up as well." C.C. placed a finger on Nightheart's forehead and she could see her surroundings begin to slowly fade, until her vision went black.

Nightheart opened her eyes to see the moonlit sky hanging above her. She felt a coat touching hers and looked next to her to see her father to her right and Kirito on her left. She saw that the others were asleep, but also noticed that Alderpaw and Needlepaw were missing. _Did something happen to them? How long was I even out?_ As she was thinking, she saw Kirito's body slowly move and she watched as his head lifted up and he locked on to her violet eyes. She could see his eyes begin to glisten.

"Nightheart…no…this has to be a dream…" The she-cat shook her head.

"It's not. It's really me, Kirito." He shook his head, still in disbelief, but when his vision became clear, he looked around first to see that everyone was there, and they were still in the place where they chose to rest.

"It…is you Nightheart…it's really you…" Kirito wiped a paw over his eyes. "I'm…so sorry for making you go through all that pain…if I knew that I'd watch you almost die…I wouldn't have made the stupid decision to fight."

"I told you…I wanted to protect you because I love you, Kirito. You mean so much to me." A sudden blush covered the she-cat's face. "Ah! I only told you that because I thought I was going to die, but now…oh I'm so embarrassed." Kirito shook his head.

"It's okay, but…I don't want you protecting me anymore, Nightheart…because I love you too. I can't bear seeing you like that again." He replied. She could see the seriousness in his expression offset by the blush on his face.

"You…love me, Kirito?"

"Why wouldn't I? We've gotten to know each other so much and we've spent so much time together…you've made my time here special. I'm just…glad I'm able to tell you that. I was…so worried that I wouldn't…" He let out a sigh before letting out a small laugh. "You must think I look pathetic now. Nobody's seen me like this before, not even Asuna." He looked up and saw that the she-cat was crying.

"Oh Kirito!" She leaped towards the tom and brought him to the ground, her body on top of his. Once their eyes met, the two shared a kiss for a few seconds, Kirito breaking away first, a blush covering both their faces. "I'm so sorry, Kirito! I didn't mean to lead you into that!" She quickly got off of the tom and noticed that Suguha was slowly getting up. "Sorry for making so much noise, Suguha."

"It's okay, Nightheart….wait…Nightheart!" Suguha jumped towards the she-cat, knocking her down. "I'm so glad that you're alright! Asuna told us that you were just unconscious, but we were still all so worried!"

"Suguha…can you…keep it down…please?" Molewhisker asked, still asleep.

"Sorry Molewhisker, but…Nightheart's awake!" Suguha got off of the she-cat and shook the others to wake them up.

"Don't tell me it's time to wake up…" Sparkpaw groaned, turning the other way to continue sleeping.

"Is she…really…" Asuna wiped a paw over her eyes to see Nightheart sitting next to Kirito. "You're okay…" Again, Asuna wiped a paw over her eyes, this time wiping away tears instead of sleep. "I just…can't thank you enough for saving Kirito."

"Nightheart, you're awake!" Cherryfall exclaimed in joy. "I'm…so happy to see that…"

"It really is you…" Molewhisker walked up to her and she greeted him with a smile, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. "Don't scare us like that ever again, please." Nightheart let out a giggle.

"I'll try not…" She was stopped when Sparkpaw pounced on her.

"You're alive! You really are alive, Nightheart! Thank StarClan you're okay! If only Alderpaw were here to see you."

"Where is he? Can I assume he and Needlepaw are together?" Sparkpaw got off of the she-cat and nodded her head.

"None of us know if they're even still alive. We were trying to cross the river…but the branch gave way…and they fell in…" Sparkpaw rubbed her eyes with a paw. "I don't know if I'll see my brother ever again."

"I'm so sorry, Sparkpaw…" Nightheart meowed, crestfallen.

"It's okay. He could possibly be alive. I mean, look at you, you're still here, so maybe StarClan's making sure they're both safe." She assured her.

"Nightheart…none of us will be able to sleep now knowing that you're awake now, so…do you mind telling us what happened?" Molewhisker asked. "Like, how you're still alive after saving Kirito?"

"Oh, and about your Geass too. Did it just appear out of nowhere?" Cherryfall asked.

"We shouldn't overwhelm her with questions. Are you hungry? Do you feel any sort of pain?" Asuna wondered.

"I'm okay, Asuna, really." Nightheart assured her. "I'm only here because my father sacrificed his life to save mine."

"So…is Lelouch…dead?" Suguha said, worry filling her voice, turning her gaze to the unconscious black tom nearby.

"He's okay, just…unconscious, but I don't know when he'll wake up. I saw that he was trapped in a crystal of some sort…but his friend, C.C. didn't know that it would happen at all."

"You talked to her?" Kirito stated, and she nodded.

"She explained everything to me. She also has no idea how I have Geass either. The only thing she told me is that she and Spottedleaf would tell us if anything came up."

"Wait…like the one who sent us the e-mails bringing us here!?" Suguha said in astonishment.

"It's that exact one. Asuna, have you talked with her before?" Kirito asked her, but she shook her head.

"I haven't. StarClan hasn't talked with me ever since I talked with Firestar, and that was around the first few days we got here."

"She doesn't live in StarClan. Her and C.C. apparently watch over cats from different worlds. I guess it's because I'm father's daughter that I was brought there too."

"So, you four can talk with StarClan…and two other cats as well?" Molewhisker stated.

"Well…I haven't actually spoken to either yet." Suguha said. "So that's it then: Our next quest is going to be waking Lelouch up now, but maybe now's not the time."

"Especially now that we're missing Alderpaw and Needlepaw. As much as I want to talk with Lelouch again, we know that he's safe thanks to Nightheart telling us...but finding those two are going to be our top priority." Cherryfall said.

"You're right, Cherryfall. The only thing is…how are we going to find those two?" Kirito asked.

"Our best bet is to look around the river for them." Molewhisker suggested.

"And…if we don't find them…" Sparkpaw meowed.

"Then…we go back to ThunderClan. At that point, we'd be risking our lives out here staying for too long."

"But…what if they're alive out there still?" Nightheart asked.

"Then we just hope that that's the case and return home. I know I'm starting to sound like the bad guy here, but it's the only thing we can do. At this point they could be anywhere."

"Molewhisker's right. It's the only way we can all stay safe. Plus, we have to get Lelouch back to the camp, He'll be more protected that way." Kirito added, the others realizing that he decided to take the safe route instead of planning to go and look for the two apprentices.

"Well…how about I go and look for them both?" Suguha offered, causing the others to look at her in shock.

"Suguha…you can't be serious, right?" Cherryfall asked. "We're not sure if you know your way back to ThunderClan if you don't find them."

"We can't just leave them out there alone. Plus, I don't offer anything to this group that you all don't cover already."

"You're not going out there! You're going back to ThunderClan with us!" Kirito spat. "I'm not…going to risk losing any of you. We lost Sandstorm, we almost lost Nightheart, Lelouch is gone for the time being and now Alderpaw and Needlepaw are missing. I can't bear seeing any more of what we've been through."

"Kirito…" Asuna looked at the tom with worry.

"But…my brother's out there. How is it fair that I might not be able to see him again?" Sparkpaw meowed, sorrow in her voice.

"Then I'll go alone to find them." Kirito responded.

"Do you hear yourself? Why can't I go by myself and look for them both? Do you think we won't be as worried if you went out? With the state you're still in, it isn't safe." Suguha responded.

"I don't mean to get between you both, but Suguha's right." Molewhisker stated. "If anything, StarClan will help her find her way back to us, maybe even lead her to the two." Asuna placed a paw on Kirito's shoulder, his gaze turning to hers.

"Suguha's strong. She'll be safe." She assured him. He then turned his gaze to his cousin's, her emerald green eyes glistening.

"No matter what I say, I can't stop you even if I wanted to, huh?" He said, a small smile forming on his face. "Molewhisker's right; StarClan will help you get back to us."

"So it's settled then?" Cherryfall asked, and the others nodded. "I'm still a bit unsure about it, but it's the only thing we can do to find those two."

"Right. We should all get back to sleep now. We need as much energy as we can in the morning, after all." Molewhisker suggested. The cats each got back into their makeshift nests and rested until the morning sun rose.

Suguha's eyes opened once morning came, the sunlight being blocked by the trees above. She looked around and saw that no other cat was awake. _It must be because I'm thinking about finding Alderpaw and Needlepaw…or because I'm actually nervous._ The light-ginger she-cat began pacing back and forth, the sound of her movement causing Molewhisker to wake up.

"Oh, Molewhisker. Sorry for waking you." She apologized as the brown and cream tom stretched.

"No, it's okay." He assured her as he padded over. "Are you scared?"

"Scared?" She scoffed at the accusation, but Molewhisker saw through, his gaze stuck on her. Causing the she-cat to slowly nod her head. "I'm worried about getting lost…but I'm mostly worried about not finding Needlepaw and Alderpaw."

"Suguha, you're a strong cat. I know that you won't get lost, and that you'll find those two. You could be searching for moons and I know you still wouldn't give up. If anything, I should be the one worried if something bad happens to you." A blush formed on Suguha's face, and once the tom noticed his choice of words, he began to blush as well. "I meant that we'd all be worried!" He slowly laughed, trying to play it off. He then felt Suguha's emerald gaze connect with his.

"Do you…like me, Molewhisker?"

"Like you? No, not at all! Wait, no I meant that I don't like you in the way I think you're saying!" The she-cat giggled, causing the tom to sigh. "Seriously though, I know you'll be fine out there, Suguha. You have nothing to worry about." He said with a smile.

"Thanks, Molewhisker." She took a deep breath and looked towards the river. "I think I'm ready to go now."

"Well, before you go, we should wake Asuna up so that she can give you some traveling herbs." Molewhisker walked over to Asuna's body and gave her a small shake.

"Wha- Oh, good morning, Molewhisker." She greeted him.

"Hey, Asuna. Suguha's ready to head out now, so I was wondering if you could give her some traveling herbs."

"Of course." Asuna got up and swiped her paw down to open up her inventory, quickly piling up traveling herbs in front of her. "Okay, this should be enough to keep your strength up for a while."

"Thank you." Suguha began to eat the herbs, trying her best not to yack as she got through their grotesque taste. Once she was done with them, she got up and faced towards the river. "I guess I should get going now."

"Without saying goodbye to the others?" Asuna stated.

"I don't want to bother them if they're sleeping."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind. They care about you, Suguha." Molewhisker assured her as he shook his sister awake, Asuna helping to wake the others up as well.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" Sparkpaw wondered as she looked around.

"Everything's fine. We just wanted to wake everyone up so you could say bye to Suguha for now." Asuna explained.

"Oh, right! Suguha, be safe out there, and make sure to find my brother, okay? Oh…and Needlepaw too."

"You'll see your brother again, I promise."

"The same can be said for you, I assume?" Nightheart asked with a smile.

"I'll make sure of it, especially with the scare you gave me. We'll spend more time together when we get back to camp, Nightheart." She responded as Kirito walked up to her. He placed a paw on her shoulder, their gazes touching.

"I know you'll be safe out there. After all, you're my cousin, right?" He moved the paw off of her shoulder and rubbed her head.

"Kazuto!" She swatted his paw away and gave her cousin a hug. "You be safe out there too. Who knows what crazy things you'll get into while I'm gone?"

"We'll keep him under control. You have nothing to worry about." Sparkpaw assured her.

"Well, I guess it's time we head our separate ways. Kirito, help me carry Lelouch, please?" Molewhisker asked. Once the two had the tom on their backs, each group looked back at each other one final time before heading their separate ways, hoping that they'd meet in ThunderClan once again.

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. I'd like to apologize for the drought of updates. It's mostly due to me finally starting college, but also due to me playing Overwatch on my PS4 during my free time. Updates are probably going to take a while to come out now, so I really want to thank those who are waiting for them to release. You're awesome for that. Anyway, hope to see you whenever the next chapter releases. ~Geasswolf Out.


	9. Chapter 8 Long Road Home

Chapter 8: Long Road Home

 _Where could those two be?_ Suguha thought as she made her way closer to the river. Once she broke through the bushes, she saw the river, along with the very end of the waterfall where she feared Alderpaw and Needlepaw fell over. _Maybe they got out before…or maybe they survived and are down here somewhere._ Suguha sniffed the air and let out a sigh of relief when she picked up their scent, albeit a bit faint. _That was easier than I thought, but…the last time I saw the others was hours ago. There's no way I can catch up to them when I find the two._ Suguha picked up the pace towards the two apprentice's scents and hoped that they weren't too far away from her. She looked up in the sky and saw that the sun was already beginning to set. _I've been so preoccupied with finding them that I realized I never went to hunt anything._ Suguha suddenly felt her stomach growl. _Great job, Suguha, you had to realize that at a time like this…but I still need to follow their scent trail. Their safety means more to me than my hunger._ The she-cat continued her travel downstream, but it suddenly became harder to follow the scents as the fumes from monsters and Twolegs began to permeate the scent trail and the sound of the nearby monsters on the Thunderpath didn't help either. _Those two are smart enough to stay away from the Thunderpath, so I should keep heading this way._

The sky now grew dark, a blanket of stars twinkling above. Suguha felt fatigued after following the vague scent trail. She sometimes felt that it disappeared, but she still never stopped to rest, especially since now the scents were actually stronger, so she had to be close to reuniting with Alderpaw and Needlepaw. _So much for this being easy. I feel like I could crash any minute…but they're close…I can feel it._ She continued her trek for ten more minutes until the scent was the strongest.

"Hey, thanks again for the fresh-kill, Needlepaw."

"It's nothing. We're in this together, after all." Suguha smiled when she heard their voices and began to run towards the two. She broke through a row of bushes and quickly looked around before she spotted two pairs of eyes staring back at her.

"Suguha!" Alderpaw immediately ran over to the she-cat and leaped towards her, catching her off guard, and causing her to fall, the apprentice lying on her belly. "It's really you! Are you still hurt from the battle we had?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Alderpaw. How about you and Needlepaw? We were so worried about you two! I'm glad that you're both okay."

"We're both fine…no thanks to me." Needlepaw said as she approached. "Sorry, I don't mean to break up the lovefest here, but where are the others?"

"She's right. Where are they, Suguha?" A sudden blush covered Alderpaw's face when his eyes connected to Suguha's and he quickly got off of the she-cat. "S-sorry about that, Suguha! I-I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!"

"It's okay, Alderpaw. You both are safe, and that's all that matters." She gave the tom a lick on the cheek, causing the fur on his face to grow even hotter. "Now, about the others…"

"They're okay, right?" Needlepaw asked.

"They're all fine. Actually, Nightheart's awake now too."

"She is? That's a relief. How about Lelouch?" Alderpaw wondered.

"He's the reason she's awake. Apparently his command to let her live was a special case, but in order to do that, Lelouch had to take her place."

"So…is he…dead?" Worry filled Needlepaw's voice, surprising Suguha. She didn't expect her to show this much sentiment towards the situation.

"No, he's just in a deep sleep. When we get back to camp, we need to find a way to wake him up."

"Well that's a relief…but what if we can't even do that? We couldn't even find SkyClan, we lost Sandstorm, and we almost lost Nightheart. Saving Lelouch could mean losing more lives." Alderpaw responded. "This is all my fault. Why'd StarClan choose me? This journey didn't help solve anything!"

"Oh, Alderpaw; sure this journey hasn't really gone as well as we expected, but StarClan must've chose you for a reason. This quest has just been full of bumps. I'm sure they have more in store for you."

"Well…if it's like this journey, I don't want any part in it." He said, letting out a sigh. "I wish I could just be a poor excuse of a warrior in training again. I rather have my own burdens than cause others pain and suffering." Suguha could hear the defeat in the tom's voice. With everything they went through, she wasn't surprised that he was feeling this way, especially for a cat of his age. She moved closer to him and brought him closer with a paw.

"I know it seems bad now, but this journey is just like life. There's always unexpected events, but we have to get through them, no matter how difficult it may seem." She explained. "I know StarClan is asking a lot from you at such a young age, but the result of it has to be something good. I promise that things will get better eventually, so keep your head up, okay?" Alderpaw looked up at her gentle emerald green gaze and felt at peace.

"Thanks, Suguha." Alderpaw pressed his head onto her coat, the she-cat pressing her body closer to his. Once he broke away, he looked over at Needlepaw. "Actually, we all should probably get some rest now. We have to be at our best if we want to make it back to the lake." Alderpaw and Needlepaw walked over to the hollow they found and Suguha followed.

"Oh…we didn't really expect to see you, Suguha…and…"

"It's okay if there's no space, Needlepaw. It's my job to protect you both, so I'd want you both to be as comfortable as possible. I'll just make a nest out here." She walked around to find the proper bedding, and once her nest was finished, she let out a yawn before resting down on it. "Good night you two. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Good night, Suguha. Thanks for coming all this way to look for us." Alderpaw told her.

"You're welcome. I didn't just want to leave you both out here. We were all worried, but now, at least I'm relieved, and the others will be as well once we get back."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

For the next three sunrises, Suguha, Alderpaw, and Needlepaw traveled down the river, hoping to find some trace of the others. They would catch faint scents of them, so they knew they were heading in the right direction, but sometimes those scents would be shrouded by the scent of monsters nearby. They still didn't find a way to cross the river, and now they saw a nearby Twolegplace in the distance.

"We're going to have to go through there, as much as you both hate it." Suguha told the two apprentices.

"You're right…unless there's some other way around." Alderpaw said.

"I say we go through. It's not a bad thing if you think about it." Needlepaw stated.

"Think about it? I can think of all the reasons why it's a bad idea." He retorted.

"Seriously, I have a plan, but we'll need to find a kittypet."

"You're delusional! We're not going in there to find one of those things!"

"No, listen, idiot."

"Needlepaw…"

"Sorry, Suguha." She apologized before she explained her idea. "A kittypet would know this area well, so they'd have to know how to cross the river. Plus, we could get some kittypet food." Alderpaw scoffed even more at the added fact that Needlepaw wanted to consume the wretched food source.

"Alderpaw…as much as you're hating the idea, Needlepaw does have a point. You can hate the food, but the idea that a kittypet could know the way is our best bet."

"See? Thank you, Suguha. Maybe if you were a she-cat you'd agree."

"Alright, no need to tease Alderpaw." Suguha told her with a giggle. "Come on you two, the sooner we get directions, the better. They made their way towards the Twolegplace until they stumbled across a Thunderpath. Needlepaw walked over to the very edge of the black surface and looked left and right before placing a paw down.

"What is she doing?" Alderpaw whispered over to Suguha.

"I'm not exactly sure." She walked over next to the apprentice and looked at her. "What are you doing, Needlepaw?"

"Feeling for vibrations to see if a monster is approaching." She placed her paw off of the Thunderpath. "It's safe to go now. Let's get going you two." The three crossed the Thunderpath with ease and once they were on the other side, they continued on their way towards the Twoleg dens.

"Needlepaw, slow down!" Suguha called out as she and Alderpaw tried to catch up to her. "You know, she is pretty smart when it comes to being around an area filled with people."

"So…are you calling _that_ smart!?" He pointed a paw towards where Needlepaw was and saw that she was rubbing herself up against a Twoleg. Alderpaw wasted no time in running over to her and pushing her away, Suguha catching up to the two once it was safe to do so.

"Suguha, can you believe this mouse-brain? I was trying to get some food!"

"I understand, but you can't be that reckless. What if he took you away?"

"Please, I would've gotten out easily."

"You know, you really are stubborn at times. Alderpaw was just trying to help you." Suguha let out a sigh. "Let's just try to keep away from people and look for a kittypet, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Needlepaw rolled her eyes in irritation. Suguha took the lead and the two apprentices followed behind her. Luckily, when they walked past the next corner, they spotted a large ginger tom resting atop a wall.

"Hi! Hey!" Needlepaw broke away quickly and was the first to greet the tom.

"Hi. Can I help you with something?"

"I'll take it from here, Needlepaw." Suguha said, joining up with her, Alderpaw following behind. "We're looking for a way across the river and we're wondering if you know of one nearby."

"You three wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the seven cats who were here at sunrise, right?"

"Wait, you saw them? Was one of them unconscious? A black one?"

"Yup, that's them. I'm guessing you're the two young cats and you're the one who went out to look for them." He told them. "They were looking for a way to cross the river as well, which is right…" The tom pointed his tail towards a narrow alley between two Twoleg dens. "…down there. It'll bring you back to the river and you should find a bridge."

"Wow, thank you for all your help. You don't know how much we appreciate it." Suguha thanked him.

"It's no trouble at all." As the three began to head towards the alley, Alderpaw turned around.

"You didn't happen to see another group of cats traveling through here, right? Like, a huge group of cats?"

"Sorry, I haven't. Are you looking for them too?" He asked, but Alderpaw shook his head.

"It's more like we're trying to keep away from them." He replied. "Again, thanks for all your help." As they were turning again, Needlepaw decided to turn around.

"Before we leave, can you help us find some food? We're kind of hungry."

"Oh, sure. Follow me over to that opening over there." The three walked over to the gate and passed through the bars. Once they were through, they followed the kittypet over to a cave where they saw a monster inside. Suguha could see that Alderpaw was uneasy.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt us. Twolegs call this a garage. Think of it as a monster den." She explained.

"Hey, aren't you two coming?" Needlepaw called over as she began to follow the tom.

"I'll stay out here with Alderpaw. You go eat." Needlepaw turned around and entered the den, leaving the two behind.

"I guess it's good that you're with us, Suguha, especially since you know everything about Twolegs." Alderpaw said. "Are you sure you don't want to eat? I'm not going to stop you if you really are hungry."

"Don't worry, I can manage. Actually, I think I'd prefer a mouse right about now." Alderpaw let out a small laugh.

"I'm happy that you're becoming accustomed to life here. Once we get back home things should mostly return to normal." He told her with a smile, but it suddenly went away. "Suguha?"

"Yes?"

"You, Kirito, and Asuna aren't going to be in ThunderClan forever, right?"

"Right. We were brought here to help the Clans, so once that's all done, we'll be going back home, but at the moment, none of us know when that'll be. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…I want to save the Clans as soon as I can…but at the same time…if it means you'll leave…I just…you mean so much to me, Suguha. I don't want to see you go." Suguha could see his amber eyes shimmer, showing her just how much she meant to him.

"Alderpaw, I know that I'll leave, but you'll always have the memory of me with you, and I promise that I'll never forget you either." She gave the tom a lick on the cheek. "I also promise that if there's some way I can come and visit, Kirito, Asuna, and I will from time to time." Alderpaw pressed closer to her light-ginger coat.

"Um…can we stop with the lovefest between you two sometime soon?" Alderpaw looked over to see Needlepaw and quickly moved away from Suguha. The she-cat apprentice then turned around. "Thanks again for all your help, Bob."

"Yes, thank you for all your help. We might've been lost longer if it wasn't for you." Suguha added.

"It's nothing. Good luck on your journey back home. Make sure you all stay safe."

"We will, thank you." With that, the three began to walk down the alley that Bob showed them before.

"See? I told you that asking a kittypet for help would bring us back home."

"It was a good idea, Needlepaw. We both appreciate it." Suguha responded.

"Well I'd like to hear Alderpaw say so directly." She responded. "C'mon, what's wrong with you? You looked a bit happy before, but now you're sad again? Do you need Suguha to comfort you still?"

"Shut up! That's not it at all!" He shouted at the she-cat. "I'm just…a complete mess right now."

"Do you want to talk to us about it?" Suguha asked. "We can stop and listen to you, Alderpaw."

"No, it's okay. We can't stop here. L-let's make our way to the bridge." He assured them.

"Are you—."

"Yes, I'm sure!" Alderpaw snapped, looking over at Suguha's worried gaze. "I-I didn't mean to yell at you, Suguha." The she-cat shook her head.

"It's not your fault. Let's just get going." Suguha took the lead and the other two followed her down the alley. Relief struck the group when they saw the narrow bridge leading to the other side of the river. Once they crossed, they saw that the only way forward was through the forest, so they headed into the trees. As they were walking, Alderpaw stopped, and the other two she-cats turned around and looked at him.

"I've failed this mission." He muttered.

"What?" Needlepaw asked.

"I said I failed! Isn't it obvious?! We were supposed to save SkyClan, but we were too late. I didn't realize my vision sooner and look what happened! Our Clans drove them out, and I was tasked to clear the sky by bringing them back! Because of this…no, because of _me_ , Sandstorm's dead, and now I don't even know what's going to happen to Lelouch. I'm a horrible medicine cat!" Alderpaw sunk to the grass below him, lying his head on his paws as he cried in sorrow and frustration. For a while, the other two said nothing, until Needlepaw walked up to him.

"Are you done?"

"Y-yeah."

"Good, so now you can pay attention and listen to me when I tell you that you're being stupid."

"Needlepaw!"

"Let me finish, please." She asked, forcing Suguha to hold her tongue. "Alderpaw, it would've taken those flea-pelts a long time to set up camp if they just finished defeating them. Plus, Mistfeather sounded very weak when you described him. Your visions were too late and wouldn't have given us much time to save SkyClan."

"So what?"

"So, your visions must mean something else." Needlepaw walked away from him as Suguha walked over to help him up.

"Thank you…and sorry again for yelling at you back there. It was wrong and I didn't mean to hurt you, Suguha." He apologized, the she-cat giving him a small lick on the cheek, causing him to become flustered.

"It's okay. I can't imagine having so much responsibility on your paws especially at such a young age." She said. "Everything Needlepaw said is true. You can't place the burden on your shoulders, Alderpaw. Your vision has to have some different meaning to it."

"But…what could it be?"

"Who knows? Things like this may take time to understand, but I know you'll figure it out in the end, Alderpaw." The tom looked over at the light-ginger she-cat and smiled. _No matter what…she's always there for me…and Needlepaw has been as well._

"Suguha…Needlepaw…thank you for everything." Alderpaw got back up on his feet and let out a breath. "Well, we won't get back to the Clans by just standing here. Let's get going."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I can't believe it…we're finally back home." Cherryfall stated as she and the others were now standing in front of the thorn tunnel leading into ThunderClan. They had arrived early in the morning, but they knew that their arrival would be enough to wake every cat up.

"Yeah…but we're down three cats." Molewhisker added.

"We'll go out looking for them. I'm sure that they're still out there somewhere." Asuna assured him.

"Right. Actually, we should get going inside now. We have to put Lelouch down somewhere."

"Are you calling my father heavy?" Nightheart asked Molewhisker with a small laugh.

"What? Of course not!" The others all shared a laugh.

"I can't remember the last time we all laughed like that." Sparkpaw said.

"I know, right? We've all been through hell, but even so we've managed to share a happy moment just now." Kirito told them. "It's good to see you smile, Sparkpaw."

"Thanks, Kirito. I guess you've all convinced me that my brother is still out there and believing that has given me some hope." She told him. "We should get going now so we can explain everything that's happened." The others nodded and the group headed through the thorn tunnel. Once they finally entered the heart of ThunderClan, they noticed everyone look over at the group. Squirrelflight was the first one to run over, followed by Ivypool. Both Sparkpaw and Nightheart ran over to their mothers and shared a quick embrace with them. As the two broke away from their daughters, however, their joy immediately faded.

"Where's Alderpaw…and Sandstorm?" Squirrelflight asked, while Ivypool walked over to Kirito and Molewhisker to see Lelouch's unconscious body on their backs.

"L-Lelouch? Please…please don't tell me that he's dead!" Ivypool's eyes began to glimmer with tears.

"Lelouch is okay, Ivypool. He's not dead…just in a deep sleep." Asuna assured her, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. She then turned over to Squirrelflight. "Alderpaw got separated from us. He fell into a river…but Suguha's out there looking for him…and as for Sandstorm…I'm sorry Squirrelflight…"

"I knew it…I told her not to go out, but she insisted…and now Alderpaw's out there too and he's possibly dead!? StarClan, why?" Asuna placed her tail on the deputy's shoulder to comfort her.

"I know it's a lot to take in…and I'm really sorry to have to tell you that news…but Sandstorm was a brave warrior, who even at her old age wanted to still help her Clan. Being her kin, I know she's passed down that passion to you."

"Thank you, Asuna. I shall pass the news over to Bramblestar…" Asuna could still sense the pain in her voice, but she knew that she had every right to feel hurt right now. The cream she-cat turned over to Ivypool now. "Ivypool, I'm going to take Lelouch over to the medicine cat's den now. He'll be resting there until he wakes up."

"O-okay."

"Mother…let's go and talk over at the Warriors' den. I can tell you everything." Ivypool nodded and she and her daughter separated from the group.

"Molewhisker, Kirito, do you mind putting him on my back? I can take him from here." The two toms nodded and placed the unconscious cat on her back. Asuna now headed over to the medicine cat's den to update Jayfeather and Leafpool on everything. She broke through the brambles and smiled when she saw Jayfeather's blind gaze touch hers. The medicine cat got up and walked over to Asuna to greet her. "Just give me a bit, okay, Jayfeather?"

"Y-yeah, sorry, Asuna." Briarlight looked over at Asuna in shock when she noticed Lelouch on her back.

"Is…Lelouch okay?" She asked.

"He's fine. Leafpool, do you mind?"

"Not at all." Leafpool helped get Lelouch off of Asuna's back and placed him on a bed of moss. "Is what I heard you tell my sister true?"

"Yes…I'm sorry Leafpool…"

"What about Alderpaw?" Jayfeather wondered. Suddenly, he felt Asuna's paws wrapped around him and her head pressed down on his shoulder.

"It's true…he's missing. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect him, Jayfeather! I always say that he could be out there still…but if he's dead…you don't have an apprentice anymore! I'm just…so sorry! The branch broke as we were crossing and…I should've carried him over, Jayfeather!"

"Asuna…you don't need to cry. I'm sure that StarClan's watching over Alderpaw, especially with the destiny that they've given him. They wouldn't just let him die like that." He assured her. "The same goes for you…but it doesn't change the fact that I was still worried about you, Asuna. You mean so much to me…so you don't know how relieved I am knowing that you're here." He gave her a comforting lick on the ear and he could feel Asuna wipe her tears on her coat. "You know…I didn't say you could use my fur to wipe your face."

"Wha— Oh, I'm so sorry, Jayfeather!"

"You know, that's not the right way to treat a she-cat." Leafpool told her son. "Especially one that you like." A blush formed on the tom's face.

"That's not true! Besides, you all know I'm a medicine cat!"

"But that doesn't mean that you don't have a crush on her." Briarlight said with a small laugh, causing him to sigh. "Anyway, Asuna, you said Lelouch was okay. So…what exactly is wrong with him? Leafpool said that you said he was just in a deep sleep from what she heard you say."

"That's basically what it is. We got into a fight with some rogues who took over SkyClan's territory…and Nightheart learned that she had Geass."

"Wait…Nightheart can use Geass!?" Leafpool stated in surprise.

"Yes. Nightheart's allows her to protect whoever she's looking at, but the damage inflicted on them is passed onto her instead. We thought we lost her…but Lelouch used his Geass to command her to live and from what Nightheart said, that allowed Lelouch to take her place, but instead of dying he's in a coma."

"It's better than losing another life…but…how long is he going to be like that?" Asuna shook her head.

"We don't know. Nightheart says that she saw him trapped in some sort of crystal but she doesn't know how to break him free."

"Well at least we know that he's still safe." Briarlight said, relief in her voice.

"Do you want us to move him next to you?" Jayfeather asked her, causing the she-cat to blush.

"I know I like him, but it just sounds too weird!" Asuna let out a small giggle before getting up on her paws.

"Hey Jayfeather, you don't mind if I go see how Kirito and the others are doing right now, do you?"

"It's fine with me." Asuna thanked him before walking over to the Warriors' den. When she did, she saw that Ivypool was looking deep into Nightheart's eyes.

"Nightheart…show me." She nodded. Ivypool and the others watched as Nightheart's right eye suddenly changed, bearing the symbol they all knew Lelouch had in his eyes. "It's true…Your father gave you Geass, but it never appeared until you wanted to protect Kirito."

"Mother…I promise that I didn't know I had it either. I just didn't want to see him die. We've done so much together...and when it happened…I was scared. Feeling the pain he was going to feel...realizing I wouldn't see you or father again…but then somehow father saved me."

"Ivypool…this is all my fault. If I wasn't so reckless Lelouch would be awake right now." Kirito told her.

"If you weren't so reckless, we may not have figured out that Nightheart had a Geass of her own." Dovewing stated. "So…I don't mean to put you on the spot, but…you're with Asuna…but Nightheart…" A blush covered his and Nightheart's face.

"W-we're just really good friends!" Nightheart assured her.

"What she said!"

"Really? So you lied when you said you loved her too?" Asuna stated, causing the two to become even more flustered.

"So…you both _do_ love each other!" Cinderheart exclaimed.

"No! It was just an in the moment thing! I said I loved him, but that was because I thought I was going to die! Sure, Kirito's one of my best friends…but I didn't mean for it to sound like that." Nightheart assured them.

"Ouch." Cloudtail looked over at Kirito.

"Yeah, that's what it was! I'll admit I took it too far, but we cleared everything out between us when we were coming back here!" Kirito added.

"If you did like my daughter, I wouldn't mind, Kirito. I can tell how much you mean to her." Ivypool assured him. "So...you all don't know how to wake Lelouch up yet?"

"Not yet, mother, but we'll find a way soon."

"Yeah. First, we need to find Alderpaw and Suguha." Molewhisker said.

"I'd say your best bet is to backtrack and try to look for him." Dovewing suggested. Kirito's ears twitched at her voice and his eyes suddenly widened.

"What did you say, Dovewing?" He quickly asked after he quickly made his way over to her.

"I just said you should backtrack to look for Alderpaw and Suguha." Once he heard her idea again, he hit himself in the head with a paw.

"How could I be so stupid? Dovewing, thanks for that one." Kirito swiped a paw down and opened up his menu window.

"You can do that now too?" Lionblaze said.

"Yeah, I used it for combat…but how could I forget about my searching and tracking skills?"

"You were in a pretty deep slump after we lost Alderpaw." Asuna reminded him. "Wait…you're telling me that once we lost Alderpaw we could've found him with ease?"

"Um…yes?" Asuna walked over and gave him a push.

"You're such an idiot!" She yelled at him.

"So…we let Suguha go searching for nothing?" Cherryfall realized.

"Well she wanted to go look for him." Kirito responded.

"Yeah, but she would've been fine if you remembered that you had an easier way to find him." Molewhisker told him with a sigh. "Anyway, how does this tracking and searching thing work?"

"Well, I could use my searching skill without the menu, but with it I can now use my tracking skill, which lets me track down cats by letting me see their footprints. So, all we have to do now is walk back towards where we lost Alderpaw and I can either track his footprints or spot him through all the trees." He explained.

"Well then let's go and find him right now!" Molewhisker told him. "We'll need to go to Bramblestar first."

"Right behind you." Kirito followed the tom over to the leader's den and once they arrived they saw that Squirrelflight and Bramblestar were talking.

"Bramblestar, let Kirito and I go find Alderpaw!"

"What's going on now?" The leader wondered.

"We don't mean to bother you, but Kirito has a skill that can help us find him."

"It's true." The leader and deputy watched as Kirito's eyes now had a green glow to them. "From the looks of it, Alderpaw's still alive too."

"He is? Oh thank StarClan! Please, go find him!" Squirrelflight begged.

"Wait!" Bramblestar stopped the two. "Please take two more cats with you just to be safe."

"Yes, Bramblestar!" With that, the two toms left the leader's den and quickly made their way back to the Warriors' den to embark on their mission to bring back Alderpaw, Suguha, and Needlepaw.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"We've so close home now! It's the first Thunderpath we crossed, remember?" Suguha told them with joy as they approached the black path.

"Definitely! It's been sunrises ever since we crossed that Twoleg bridge, and I don't think I've ever been this excited to see a Thunderpath. I can't wait to get back to ShadowClan…but more importantly, my den."

"Won't you get in trouble when you get back?" Alderpaw told her.

"Nah. I left to serve my Clan. Sure the older cats will complain, but it's not like I'm not used to it."

"That doesn't surprise me." Suguha said with a laugh.

"To be fair, I rather have you or Asuna scolding me than any of them. I've gotten to like the little group that we had…even though you're all a part of ThunderClan." She told them, a small blush of embarrassment on her face. As they were about to resume their walk, the two noticed Alderpaw stop. "Feeling sad again?"

"No, it's not that…it's just…last night I had a dream and Sandstorm told me that I just need to find a different path."

"And you didn't tell us this morning? Even after all we've done together. Did he tell you, Suguha?"

"No, I didn't. It's just that I wanted to solve it all by myself. For starters, I don't think she meant it in a literal sense, so it must…" He was stopped when Needlepaw broke away from him and Suguha and ran away from the Thunderpath.

"Needlepaw, where are you going?" Suguha called out as she ran over to her, Alderpaw trailing behind. Once they caught up to her, Suguha saw that she was standing in front of a sewer, her nose scrunching at the foul scent. "Please don't tell me you're thinking of going in there."

"It's a different path that all in the shadows! C'mon, don't tell me that you want to just ignore it!"

"Yeah, because it's completely mouse-brained! I'm positive that this isn't what Sandstorm meant by finding a different path."

"It's always like this! You never listen to me!"

"Well maybe if you actually made sense sometimes I would!"

"Hey, you both stop fighting!" Suguha yelled, silencing the two. "We're not going to start something, especially when we're this close home."

"It's his fault. Look, you don't need to follow me, but I'm going this way." Needlepaw slowly pushed her way through the bars and entered the tunnel. Suguha looked back at Alderpaw, who was also looking at her.

"We can't just leave her alone…and she's just trying to help." She told him.

"But Suguha, we're this close from home. What if we die in there?" He asked.

"It's just a sewer pipe. They aren't known for having anything bad in them…well other than a bad scent."

"Now you tell me." Alderpaw let out a sigh. "I still don't want to go in there because of the smell…but if you're going in there…I don't want to be alone out here." Suguha let Alderpaw enter the tunnel first and she followed behind him.

"This is really gross!" Suguha complained, the scent inside along with the dirty water touching her paws making her shake.

"There's a higher ground over here. It'll at least keep your paws dry." Alderpaw informed her. She quickly moved over to where the tom was and let out a sigh.

"Thank you, Alderpaw."

"Anything to help you, Suguha." She gave him a small lick over the ear, causing the tom to blush. The two caught up to Needlepaw and made their way deeper into the sewer. As they were walking, Alderpaw's ears suddenly twitched. "Hey you two, stop for a second." Once it was silent, Alderpaw heard the cry again and walked past the two cats.

"What happened? Did you find something?" Suguha asked as she and Needlepaw walked over to the tom. "Wait…is that…a nest?"

"And are those…"

"Yeah, they're kits!"

"Oh my gosh…they were just left in here all alone? They're so small."

"Their eyes aren't even open either. They're only a few days old…and they're really thin." Alderpaw stated.

"I'll go and look for their mother. You both stay put!" Needlepaw broke away and went through the bars on the other side, calling out for the kits' mother. As they waited, Alderpaw found out that they were both she-kits, but he also realized that what they needed more than their mother at the moment was food.

"Needlepaw, can you catch something instead? They need food right now!" He wasn't sure if she heard him, but he and Suguha saw her wriggle through the bars a few minutes later with a vole in her jaws.

"That was fast. We need to chew it for them to ear." The three cats both bit off a piece of vole and began chewing it into a pulp. Alderpaw then opened up one of the kit's mouth and dropped it in. She began to choke on it and spit out the vole.

"They're not use to it yet. They need milk. Suguha, do you have any?" The she-cat looked over at Needlepaw in shock.

"Me? I'm not expecting kits or anything, so I don't think so." She responded.

"Exactly, so we have to keep trying to feed them." Again, Alderpaw dropped the pulp of vole into the kit's mouth, but this time, he massaged her throat. She began choking again, but relief filled the three when the vole was gone and she was begging for more food. The three now worked together to feed the kits and once they were full, they squirmed over to their bodies for warmth.

"They're adorable." Suguha gave the black and white kit a small lick on the head.

"Good idea, Suguha. We need to lick them to keep their blood flowing." Alderpaw told her, licking the gray kit. As they worked to warm the two, they noticed that they slowly began to fall asleep.

"I'm glad we found these two in here and were able to keep them safe. It's thanks to you, Needlepaw." Suguha praised the ShadowClan she-cat.

"It was lucky that we found them in here. They were the last thing I expected to find here." She responded. "I wonder where their mother went. I hope the Thunderpath didn't take her."

"I don't know, but whether she's out there or not, we need to bring them to the Clans to be cared for."

"Right, and we should give them names too." Needlepaw suggested. "Suguha, your little one smells like violets, so I think we should call her Violetkit."

"This one's as small as a twig, so I think she should be called Twigkit." Alderpaw said.

"I think they're both great names you two. I have no complaints at all." Suguha stated.

"But you like the name Violetkit more, right?"

"Needlepaw, let's not make this a competition." Alderpaw told her.

"Actually, you're right, Needlepaw."

"Ha! Looks like someone needs to come up with better names."

"Fine, let's see here…"

"You can't just rename her like that." Suguha told him with a giggle, causing him to sigh.

"I like the name Twigkit anyway, so I'll stick with it." He responded, letting out a small smile. "Let's get going back to camp you two." As Alderpaw went to grab Twigkit by the scruff, he stopped when he felt Needlepaw's tail poke him.

"You know, you didn't thank me for taking us into this tunnel…because you know…these two are the things we needed to find in the shadows."

"She's got a point, Alderpaw. You should thank her." Suguha told him, her voice muffled by Violetkit's scruff.

"Right…thanks for bringing us in here, Needlepaw." He said before he picked up Twigkit. "Let's get going now. I don't know how much more of this stench I can stomach." The two other cats let out small laughs and crossed through the bars on the other side of the pipe, continuing their journey back home with two new members to their team.

A cool breeze flowed through the air as Alderpaw stood atop a slope, holding Twigkit by the scruff. He looked down and saw the lake at the center of the Clans' territories. _We're back…we're finally back home!_ Suguha and Needlepaw slowly made their way up the slope to join the tom. When they left the tunnel, they traveled until night struck. They found the area where they rested before when they stole the Twoleg food from the trash can and slept there for the night. Now it was early in the morning on the next day, the three cats predicting that they'd return home before sunhigh.

"Wow…we're finally back home. Well…my temporary home, at least." Suguha said with a small laugh. Once Needlepaw joined them, she put Violetkit next to her sister.

"Yeah. It's been a while. I missed this place." Needlepaw stated

"Right…" Alderpaw looked over at the ShadowClan apprentice. "I guess this is good bye now, huh?" He told her. "You'll want to go through RiverClan."

"Yeah, guess you're right."

"Listen, Needlepaw…Can you keep everything that happened in the gorge a secret? Anything about SkyClan for that matter, actually?" He expected her to say something, but she stayed silent and just looked at him. "Well, I guess I'll see you later. Suguha, do you mind getting Violetkit?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you serious!?" Suguha stopped at the sound of Needlepaw's voice. "I helped find these kits! Which cats says that they're going to ThunderClan?"

"If it wasn't for me dream about Sandstorm, none of us would've found these kits!"

"We wouldn't have found these kits if I didn't go through that cave while you were busy slowly thinking, like always! Are you kidding me right now?"

"Alderpaw, Needlepaw, please…" Suguha tried to stop them, but they continued arguing.

"Are _you_ serious!? This was my quest in the first place! You were never supposed to be a part of this at all! Just look at how you act! I don't want them growing up in ShadowClan if they're going to turn out disobedient like you! I rather take them back to the gorge!"

"Coward! When we made our way back here, do you know how many rules that we broke? If it wasn't for me doing so, we wouldn't have found our way back home, and even if we did, it would've been so slow following your orders that these two would be dead! You're so blinded by rules, Alderpaw!"

"Stop it, you two!" Suguha yelled. "We've made it this far together and now we're fighting. Alderpaw, I hope that's the last time I hear you degrade Needlepaw just because of where she was born." Alderpaw let out a gasp of disbelief at the fact that the cat he adored so much was against him. "Needlepaw, I know you're frustrated, but you have to at least see where Alderpaw is coming from."

"I don't care about him anymore. After I saved his life he wants to disrespect me like that? No, the best thing we can do is take one kit each and bring them to our respective Clan."

"We can't do that. The only family they have left is each other." Suddenly, the three heard a distant yowl from behind them.

"Alderpaw! Suguha! Needlepaw!" Alderpaw looked down the slope and saw that Kirito was running up the slope, followed by Molewhisker, Berrynose, and Poppyfrost. He wasted no time in running down the slope and meeting the four cats.

"You're alive! Thank StarClan you're okay!" Molewhisker exclaimed.

"So are you and Kirito!" Alderpaw responded with joy. How about the others?"

"Everyone's fine." Kirito assured him. "We got back to camp this morning and told everyone what happened." He explained. "We looked around the river, but we couldn't find you."

"Yup, because _someone_ apparently forgot about a searching power they had." Poppyfrost told him, causing Kirito to blush. Alderpaw looked over at the tom's eyes and noticed the green glow in them.

"Hey, Molewhisker, could you tell you mom to cut me some slack?" Kirito asked, causing the tom to laugh.

"Well then my dad would be the one telling you that it was your fault."

"Right, I'm the only one here not part of the family." Kirito let out a sigh.

"All joking aside, how did you survive?" Berrynose asked. "From what they told us, it had to have been a miracle."

"Needlepaw helped me out of the water. She's up there with Suguha." Kirito rushed up to the top of the slope and once he saw his cousin, he ran over to her.

"It's great to see that you're alive, Suguha." He told her.

"You too." She replied with a smile. "So…you forgot about your searching and tracking skills…huh?"

"Y-yeah…I'll take the blame for that one." He said, embarrassment in his voice. "Oh, hey Needlepaw, what's up? Good to see you're still fine as well."

"Same to you. Actually, it's great that you forgot about you skill because look what we found." She stepped aside, revealing the two kits. "Ta-da!"

"Whoa…where'd you find these two?" Kirito brought his face down to them. "Hey you two, it's nice to…ow…ow!" Kirito brought his face away and rubbed his nose after Violetkit scratched it. He looked back and saw that the others were now up with them at the top of the slope.

"Suguha, it's good to see that you're alright." Molewhisker told her with a smile. "You too, Needlepaw."

"Wait…are those kits?" Poppyfrost asked as she approached them.

"Whose are they?" Berrynose asked.

"We can explain everything later. Right now, we need to go back to ThunderClan to help them. They're not in the best state, but I know they'll be nursed back to full health in no time."

"That sounds like a good idea, especially since you're a medicine cat. Asuna can even help too. She'll be so excited when we get back." Kirito told him.

"But…I found the kits too. Well, I mean…we worked together to find and help them. We think they're what StarClan wanted us to find."

"You mean the thing in the shadows?" Molewhisker stated. "Alderpaw, do you think it's true?"

"Y-yeah, It's possible." He said.

"Well then how about we take them back to ThunderClan and care for them first, then—."

"They'll be just as fine in ShadowClan." Needlepaw interrupted, causing Molewhisker to raise a paw to silence her.

"We'll nurse them back to health and then we'll bring the kits to the next Gathering in a few days and see what happens there." Needlepaw stayed silent and simply nodded her head.

"Good. Let's get back to ThunderClan, everyone." Molewhisker told them before he and Kirito each picked up one of the kits.

"Needlepaw, will you be fine on your own? I can help walk you back if you want." Suguha offered.

"It's okay, I'll be fine on my own." Suguha was surprised when she felt Needlepaw press her head close to her chest. "Thanks for everything, Suguha. I hope I see you again soon." Once she broke away, she looked over at Alderpaw. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah…I'll find you at the Gathering." He watched as Needlepaw turned away, heading towards RiverClan, leaving Alderpaw and Suguha at the top of the slope.

"Come on, let's catch up with the others." She said as she walked towards him, but she noticed his amber gaze turn away from her.

"Don't talk to me." Alderpaw headed down the slope, leaving Suguha behind, a cloud of confusion surrounding her.

"Alderpaw, wait!" Suguha called for him as she ran down the slope to catch up with him. "What's going on? Are you feeling okay?"

"Just leave me alone, Suguha." Alderpaw felt a paw touch him and looked back at Suguha's green eyes.

"Hey you two, come on!" Berrynose called out.

"We'll catch up!" She called out before now focusing on Alderpaw. "Did I do something wrong to you, Alderpaw? If so, tell me because I have no idea why you're so angry."

"How could you side with Needlepaw about Violetkit and Twigkit!?"

"Side with her? Alderpaw, I don't-."

"While we were arguing you scolded me as if I was the one in the wrong, when I was just looking out for the kits! We have more medicine cats and more herbs for them too!" Suguha dug her claws on her right forepaw in the ground.

"Was degrading Needlepaw necessary in looking out for them!? Was she wrong in being angry that you made a choice without her? Everything she said to you was true. Without her, we wouldn't have gotten back here, and without her, you wouldn't be alive right now!"

"Why don't you just go to ShadowClan if you're going to stick up for her? I'm sure she'd be happy if you were there with her." Alderpaw began to make his walk to catch up to the group, but Suguha didn't want to leave this hatred in his heart, especially after everything they went through.

"Because I know you need me, Alderpaw." Alderpaw stopped. "I just want to be there to help you…please."

"I still have Kirito and Asuna." Suguha gasped at the remark. His cold words shook her and she could feel an uncomfortable tightness in her chest as her vision became blurry with tears.

"How could you say that?" Suguha was in disbelief. Alderpaw was the last cat she ever expected to treat her this way. "Was everything you told me a lie? When you told me that I meant so much to you…did you just want my sympathy so that I could comfort you? Is that all I am to you, Alderpaw? Some cat you can use for your comfort?" Tears fell from her emerald green eyes down onto the grass below her. "Needlepaw was right…you really are a coward, Alderpaw." Suguha could feel her heart break more when she now saw Alderpaw sink down to the ground, crying into his paws. Tears still in her eyes, she walked over so that she was now next to Alderpaw.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Suguha…I just…I just…I don't know what came over me!" He wiped his eyes with a paw, but it wasn't enough to stop the rest of his tears from falling. "I don't deserve your kindness or friendship…not anymore…"

"It's okay, Alderpaw…I know that you-."

"But it's not okay! How could I yell at such a selfless and sweet cat like you? I…I really did mean it when I said you mean so much to me...but…seeing you cry…because of me…I can't forgive myself. You're always so kind to me, Suguha. You've been there for me…protected me…cared for me…I don't know what possessed me to be so mean to you!"

"You were just frustrated because you thought I was getting in the way of your good intentions, that's all. I just…didn't want to see your friendship with Needlepaw ruined, so I had to intervene." She told him. "I…I really didn't mean to call you a coward, Alderpaw…you're nowhere near that, especially with everything you've accomplished at your age." She used a paw to bring the tom in closer, causing him to lie his head down on her coat.

"Is…everything okay here?" The two looked up to see Kirito standing in front of them.

"Y-yes Kazuto, we're fine." Suguha assured him.

"Are you sure? You both look like you've been crying."

"We're fine. It's my fault that we're like this, Kirito." Alderpaw told him. "Sorry for making Suguha cry."

"Oh…well as long as you both are feeling better that's all that matters." _He's so mature for an apprentice. I'm a bit freaked out by it…but in a good way._ Once the two got back up, they began to catch up with the others. "So…what were you both fighting about?"

"I think we're going to keep that between us."

"Right. I can respect that." The tom responded. "Anyway, you two must be excited to get back to camp. I mean, I just got back a while ago and after running back here to find you both, I think I need a rest." Kirito let out a sigh, causing the other two to laugh.

"Alright Kirito, lead the way back home." _I know that this journey didn't go as planned at all, but after saving Violetkit and Twigkit, things are looking up._


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

 _Days quickly passed ever_ since Alderpaw and the others returned home from the journey. Twigkit and Violetkit were easily nursed back to health and cared for, and they seemed comfortable in ThunderClan. The day before, Alderpaw had talked with Bramblestar, Squirrelflight, Leafpool, and Jayfeather about what he thought the kits meant. He believed that right now, they were too young to be what the prophecy meant, but in the future, they would be.

"So, a Gathering is just every Clan updating each other on how they're doing?" Kirito asked Squirrelflight as the group of ThunderClan cats were making their way to the island where the Gathering took place.

"Yup. We also mention any sort of misconduct between the Clans, and from the kit scenario we have, ThunderClan's going to be getting an earful."

"An earful is an understatement." Bramblestar added. "ThunderClan cats are honest, so even though keeping you, Asuna, and Suguha a secret would be favorable, we know better than to do so."

"So we're part of the trouble you're going to get in, Bramblestar?" Suguha stated.

"I'm sorry to make it sound like that way, but it's the truth." He said.

"Don't worry, Suguha, at Gatherings, no fighting can happen, so no cat is going to get hurt." Alderpaw assured her, his voice muffled by Twigkit's coat as he carried her.

"So Asuna, is this your first time at a Gathering too?" Violetkit asked as she was being held by Sparkpaw.

"It is. I'm just like you and your sister. So are Kirito and Suguha." She told them.

"Cool! Hey, can you and Suguha play with us when we get back to camp?" Twigkit wondered.

"I don't think so. It's pretty late and kits like you two should be sleeping once we get back." Asuna replied. "But don't worry, if I'm not busy tomorrow, I promise we can play. Maybe I'll even bring Kirito too."

"They both really like you, Asuna." Jayfeather told her. "I just can't believe you think I give you so much work to do that you have no free time." The cream she-cat let out a giggle.

"You know I'm just kidding. Hey, why don't you come over to play with them sometimes?"

"Well, for one, I'm blind, and two, I'm not that great at playing with kits."

"Oh I'm sure we can think of something for you to do. The kits usually always tackle Kirito over, so you could just be another cat to tip over."

"And that's where we stop with this idea." Asuna gave the tom a small push with a paw, causing him to smile. "Hey, I'm blind you know."

"Right, sorry." She apologized, a bit of playfulness still in her voice. "Jayfeather, those cats I'm seeing up ahead must be WindClan cats, right?"

"They should be. There's your first glimpse of them. Don't worry, you'll be able to see the other two Clans too."

"Do these Gatherings usually go well?"

"Yes, but don't be surprised if something goes wrong. Fighting is prohibited, but that only holds towards the physical sense. I'll tell you right now, things are not going to go well, but I'm sure you know that."

"Yeah. I hope that things don't escalate too far in terms of arguing."

The ThunderClan cats finally made it to the fallen tree bridge a few minutes later and crossed it to join the other Clans on the island.

"Whoa…that's a lot of cats." Kirito said in surprise.

"Trust me, if every cat from every Clan attended a Gathering, you'd be even more shocked." Dovewing told him. "Usually you can go mingle around a bit before we start everything. Nightheart, I'm sure you remember your first Gathering?"

"How could I forget the yelling you and mother gave me that night?" She said with a giggle.

"It's hard to believe that you were so carefree, Nightheart." Suguha told her with a small laugh. "Maybe you should let that side out a bit more?"

"I thought you liked me how I was, Suguha…" Nightheart wiped her eye with a paw.

"Oh, well I didn't mean it that…" She stopped when she heard Nightheart let out a snicker.

"I can't believe you fell for that, Suguha." Kirito told her, causing her to push him with a paw.

"I think it would've worked better on you, Kirito. You do like her after all." Asuna teased.

"I guess I deserved that one…"

"Same here…" Nightheart added, the two cats still flustered by the mention of what happened between them on their journey. They all saw one of the Clan leaders walk forward and they turned their attention over to where the leaders were.

"Who's that?" Asuna wondered.

"That's RiverClan's leader, Mistystar. To the right of her is ShadowClan's leader, Rowanstar, and next to him is Onestar, WindClan's leader." Dovewing explained before Mistystar spoke.

"I'll begin tonight's Gathering. Prey hasn't been an issue in RiverClan as of late, and—." She stopped at the sound of an audible snarl from Rowanstar.

"Can we stop acting like this is a normal Gathering?" He demanded. "I know that Bramblestar has some _very_ important news to share, something along the lines of the prophecy? Oh, and how about those young cats and three new cats as well?" Cats all around were talking amongst each other, wondering what the ShadowClan leader was getting at. Bramblestar got to his paws and turned towards the crowd of cats.

"Alderpaw, our medicine cat, was sent on a quest to find what lies in the shadows. During the journey, we lost our elder, Sandstorm, and Lelouch was put into a critical condition as well. On the way back, Alderpaw stumbled upon these two kits." He pointed at the two with his tail.

"That doesn't sound completely true. Did you mean to say that Needlepaw also helped find the kits?" Rowanstar asked. "Didn't she help save him from drowning as well?"

"Yes, but is it common for ShadowClan apprentices to roam around any territory they want without any supervision?"

"Don't tell me how I need to treat my cats!" He growled. "The fact of the matter is that the kits were brought over to ThunderClan to be treated and tonight we would decide what we'd do with them."

"I don't mean to impose on anything, but can I get a bit of an update with what's going on right now?" Mistystar asked.

"Yeah, and what about those three other cats ThunderClan has?" Onestar asked.

"Those other three cats are Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha." He pointed his tail over to them, and the three felt every pair of eyes lock onto them. "Like Lelouch, they are not from this world and they have been brought here to help us figure out the prophecy."

"Right, you mean help ThunderClan find out about the prophecy. Just another typical ThunderClan notion to control every territory here." Onestar snidely remarked.

"That's not it at all. These three helped Alderpaw on his journey, and although they didn't find the answer we needed, I'm sure they will help us all in some other way." He answered. "Anyway, regarding the kits, Alderpaw says that Sandstorm's spirit guided him and helped him discover the kits. Now, every cat in the clearing was talking about the kits, along with Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha as well, while the leaders spoke amongst themselves for a bit.

"Well, at least the mentioning of us went a bit better than I expected." Asuna stated.

"Right? I thought it would be a big deal, but maybe they all know that we're helping every Clan…well maybe Onestar doesn't." Kirito replied.

"That's just typical behavior. The only nice one up there other than Bramblestar is Mistystar." Nightheart said. "Of course, Onestar and Rowanstar are acting as they do because they just want what's best for their Clans."

"But if these kits are what can clear the sky, why does it matter where they stay?" Suguha wondered.

"Saying that would mean that you'd agree that Bramblestar should give them both away to ShadowClan." Dovewing told her. "I understand what you're saying though, Suguha. It's just that we need to find a sort of compromise so that every Clan is on the same page." They noticed the sound of the leaders' arguing increase and turned to look over at them.

"The kits are happy and safe now. It would be cruel to move them away when they've gotten so comfortable."

"Typical ThunderClan. Always wanting to keep cats for yourselves." Onestar growled.

"Bramblestar…I don't mean to start anything, but it's starting to look like that." Mistystar said, pain in her voice. "The prophecy was sent to every Clan. ThunderClan doesn't rightfully own the kits."

"I don't disagree with that, and I do agree that ShadowClan has claim to at least one of the kits." He responded. "As much as I'm unhappy with this…we will give one of the kits over to ShadowClan."

"What!" Alderpaw exclaimed in disbelief. Cats around the clearing began to swarm around the kits for the most part, while some took the time to get closer looks at Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha.

"Oh, um…hey there." Kirito greeted the cats looking at him with a wave of his paw.

"Well, I guess they kinda look like they're not from the forest." One cat stated.

"At least we know if some danger's coming, they'll protect us all." Another meowed. The three began to be bombarded by multiple questions, but they didn't mind, especially since it took some attention away from the kits. Up on the Great Oak, Mistystar turned away from the crowd and looked at the other three leaders.

"Any other news to discuss?"

"After what transpired? No normal news is going to cut it." Onestar responded.

"Then I call this Gathering to—."

"Not yet." Rowanstar interrupted, causing the cats in the clearing to become silent. "Bramblestar, what was the reason that Alderpaw decided to bring the kits over to ThunderClan?"

"I-it's because I believed that they would be nursed back to health quicker in ThunderClan." Alderpaw stammered.

"Quickly…because of your extra medicine cat, correct? Or should I correct that cat to _cats_?"

"What are you getting at?" Bramblestar asked, his teeth clenched.

"Three new cats also were brought to ThunderClan, correct?" Bramblestar's amber eyes suddenly went wide when he realized what Rowanstar was getting at. "I'm sure you know what else I'm asking for…but for those who don't; I'm asking that you give Asuna over to ShadowClan as well." Now, every gaze turned over to Asuna, who stood there, frozen.

"What gives you the right to tell you to give a Clanmate over to you!?" The ThunderClan leader spat.

"I'm only asking because she was brought here to help the Clans. I was informed that she was a medicine cat, and I don't think ThunderClan needs three medicine cats, including an apprentice."

"Wait, what makes you think WindClan doesn't need her? You already got one of the kits!" Onestar joined in.

"Because Littlecloud is getting old. I'm sure that's enough of a reason." He retorted. The whole clearing went silent until a single voice broke it.

"I'll do it." Bramblestar turned towards his Clan and saw Asuna's gaze looking over at him. She made her way up to the Great Oak where the leaders were.

"Asuna…are you sure? What about you and Kirito?" The leader asked her.

"It's okay. He knows that I'll be safe. I just don't want to see you leaders fight and it be because of me." She told him. "Besides, we were brought here to help the Clans, and if one of them needs a medicine cats, I'm the one who can help them."

"If that's what you want." Bramblestar gave her a lick to the shoulder, causing her to blush. "In this world, that's a sign of respect." He explained. "You will always be welcome in ThunderClan, no matter what. I know that even in ShadowClan you'll try to find a way to help us all." Bramblestar looked over at Rowanstar. "She's a part of ShadowClan now."

"I'm sure now I can call this Gathering to an end?" The two opposing leaders nodded. "Very well. This Gathering has come to an end!" Before Mistystar left, her gaze touched Asuna's amber eyes. "That was a selfless act that you did. You've gained my respect." With that, Mistystar leaped down the tree and headed over to her warriors. Onestar did the same, minus the praise for Asuna. She now followed the ThunderClan and ShadowClan leader down to where the kits were.

"I can't believe you're giving away Asuna and one of the kits!" Alderpaw told his father as he approached.

"To stop any animosity, it was necessary. A part of being Clan Leader is making hard choices." He responded. "Choose a kit, Rowanstar." He looked down at the two kits.

"I'll take the black-and-white one."

"That's Violetkit. Please take good care of her…and Asuna as well." Alderpaw looked up at Asuna and could see her eyes glisten.

"They will both be taken care of in ShadowClan." Once he picked up Violetkit, he began to walk away, causing Twigkit to cry out.

"He's taking my sister! Alderpaw, do something!" She ran over to Rowanstar and began clawing at his hindleg.

"Help me! I want Lilyheart!" Violetkit called out.

"Leave, now." Bramblestar coldly spoke, his gaze not touching Rowanstar's.

"Come, Asuna." The ShadowClan leader turned around and walked towards his clanmates.

"Can I say goodbye to everyone first?" She asked. "It's the least you could do for me." Asuna could feel her new leader's gaze touch hers and she felt a different sensation move through her body than when Bramblestar looked at her. At the moment, she felt no kindness in Rowanstar's gaze.

"Very well. I will leave Tigerheart here to guide you back to ShadowClan."

"Thank you." As Rowanstar left, Asuna turned to look at her former clanmates. "I guess this is goodbye, everyone." Asuna felt her heart break at the sight of all the sorrow filled in the gaze of every ThunderClan cat.

"Asuna…I'll…" Asuna looked at Alderpaw and saw that he was struggling to hide his tears.

"I'll be okay, Alderpaw. Please, please promise me that you'll be strong and that you never give up on working with Kirito and Suguha to find what's hiding in the shadows." Asuna felt Alderpaw brush up to her, his tears now on her coat.

"I will. I'll do it for you, Asuna." He told her. She looked over at Sparkpaw and saw that she was rubbing her eyes with a paw.

"Sparkpaw, you can come over here too." She looked up at Asuna and immediately ran over to her to cry on her coat alongside her brother.

"It's not going to be the same…without you."

"I know, but I promise that I'll see you and the rest of ThunderClan again. I don't know when that'll be, but I know I will."

"You know you're not their mother, right?" Asuna turned around to see Kirito. "How many times do I have to remind you, especially now that Squirrelflight's over there?" Asuna let out a small smile. "I'm surprised that you didn't ask me about this all before making a decision."

"Sorry…I just thought that it was the right thing to do, Kirito." He let out a smile.

"That's why you didn't have to ask me anyway." Asuna tilted her head in confusion. "As long as you think you're doing the right thing, why should you need to check in with me? Sure we'll be separated, but I know you'll be safe. After all, you are Asuna." He gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"I guess you're right. Just don't think this means you and Nightheart can hook up."

"A-Asuna!" Nightheart exclaimed, a blush on her face.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist again." She said with a laugh.

"It's fine." Nightheart assured her. "We're going to all miss you, Asuna. I know my father and mother aren't here to tell you that, but I know they'll miss you too."

"Make sure you tell them I said thank you for bringing you into this world, Nightheart." The black she-cat walked over to Asuna and the two shared a quick hug. Once she broke away, Asuna looked over at Suguha.

"Make sure to keep Kirito in check at all times for me?"

"Obviously. I'll make sure Kazuto doesn't do anything too reckless." She assured her. "Just don't try to worry too much about us over here."

"Will do." The two both shared a quick nuzzle and looked at each other afterwards. "We're acting a bit too much like cats." The others around them laughed.

After Asuna said goodbye to the rest of the ThunderClan warriors, she looked around for a gray pelt. _Where's Jayfeather?_ She saw Leafpool and walked over to her.

"Leafpool, have you seen Jayfeather?" Asuna asked her.

"Did he not say goodbye to you yet?" She wondered, and Asuna shook her head.

"Oh, he's over there." Asuna saw that the tom was near the water, resting on the grass. "I guess I'll…I don't know when I'll see you again, Leafpool, but thanks for helping Jayfeather teach me all about medicine. I'll make sure to use my knowledge to help the ShadowClan cats."

"Right." Asuna and Leafpool nuzzled each other before Asuna headed over to Jayfeather, Leafpool watching the two.

Jayfeather's ears twitched when he heard the sound of pawsteps approaching him. He sniffed the air and figured out that it was Asuna, but he didn't stand. Instead, he just rested there still until she walked over to him.

"Jayfeather…are you okay?" She asked. She felt his blind gaze touch hers as he got up.

"I'm fine, Asuna." He replied. "I can't believe that you're going to ShadowClan. If only that pesky Needlepaw didn't come along with you all on the journey you'd still be with us."

"I know, but if their medicine cat's getting old, I don't mind going to help them." She responded.

"It's…going to be different realizing that you're not in the medicine cat's den, Asuna. I can't imagine how Briarlight is going to cope with this knowing that you're gone and Lelouch is asleep."

"She still has you, Alderpaw, and Leafpool. You could also ask Suguha or Kirito to help her too." She told him, but she could still sense the hurt in his gaze. "I'm sorry for ruining the family we have in the medicine cat's den, Jayfeather. I'm…really going to miss it."

"I know you will. Just promise that you won't forget about everything that I've taught you."

"I rather forget about all of that than forget that I met you, Jayfeather." The tom felt Asuna nuzzle him below the chin, his face growing hot. Once she moved away, she rubbed her eyes with a paw and let out a sniffle. "I guess this is goodbye now."

"Yeah…sadly…" Jayfeather hung his head down as Asuna left, his own eyes glistening as well. "I love you…Asuna." Asuna stopped walking and turned around to walk the small distance back towards the tom.

"J-Jayfeather, what did you say?"

"I said that I love you, Asuna." Asuna raised a paw over her mouth and could feel tears begin to run down her face. "I-I know it's stupid because I'm a medicine cat, and even more stupid because you have Kirito, but the time I've spent with you…it means so much to me. I've never met a cat as kind and caring as you. You're one of the few cats able to put a smile on my face…and when I'm around you…I…I feel like a whole different cat." He confessed, tears streaming from his eyes. "I know medicine cats aren't supposed to have these sort of feelings, but I can't help having them towards you, Asuna."

"Oh, Jayfeather!" Asuna placed her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry…that I'm leaving now knowing that you feel that way!"

"It's not your fault. Don't think for a second that it is." He assured her, placing his tail on her shoulder to comfort her. "I just…wanted to tell you in case something happens to one of us." Asuna looked up at the tom and gave him a lick on the cheek. Jayfeather moved away, a blush on his face. Once Asuna realized what she did, she also began to blush.

"I'm so sorry, Jayfeather! Isn't that a way cats show affection?"

"Y-Yeah, it just caught me by surprise, that's all." He stammered.

Over where the other ThunderClan cats were, Kirito watched Jayfeather and Asuna talk, along with when the two shared a moment of affection.

"I don't think I saw that coming."

"Aw, is someone angry now?" Suguha teased.

"What? No way. Those two have spent so much time together." He responded. "I'm guessing you knew the entire time, Leafpool?"

"I could tell that Jayfeather had some sort of connection with her. It was all about if he was ready to confess how he felt. I know that feeling far too well." She responded. "I'm happy that he did. Not being able to have a mate is one of the hardships of going down that path, but there's nothing against expressing love. From the looks of it, she at least has some affection towards him too."

"Well I'm happy for him." Kirito then looked over at Suguha with a smirk. "So…who do you like, Suguha?" A blush formed on the light-ginger she-cat's face.

"K-Kazuto!"

"What? You know, Alderpaw's growing up to be a mature cat…and I've seen the way Molewhisker looks at you, too." Suguha struck his cousin with a paw. "Okay, okay, kidding over." They heard a small cough from behind them and turned around to see a dark brown tabby tom. "Hey. You're…Tigerheart, right?"

"That's me. I just felt away from everyone so I thought I'd introduce myself."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Tigerheart. I'm sure ShadowClan will keep Asuna safe." Suguha told him with a smile.

"She'll be fine…but I'm also sorry about all of this as well. You three shouldn't be divided like that, especially since you're not from this world."

"It's nothing. Like Suguha said, we're sure Asuna will be safe. Plus, she's helping another clan too." They saw Asuna and Jayfeather walking over to them and greeted both with a smile.

"You must be Tigerheart. It's nice to meet you."

"Same here."

"So…how was your little 'moment'?" Suguha asked, causing her and Jayfeather to quickly become embarrassed.

"I should've known that you all saw. It's even more embarrassing since Leafpool's here too!"

"Sorry about that, Kirito." The blind tom apologized.

"Are you kidding? Sure we're together, but I can't change how you feel about her, Jayfeather, and that's okay with me." He assured him. "Does this mean we'll be with grumpy Jayfeather from now on?"

"Don't push it." The medicine cat responded with a small growl before letting out a playful grin.

"Asuna, having you around the medicine cat's den made Jayfeather so happy. I can't thank you enough for becoming a part of his life."

"I can't thank you both enough for your guidance, either. Never would I ever had expected to become friends with cats that could talk, but I'm overjoyed that it happened." She wiped away a tear with her paw. "I guess this is it, then. I hope to see you all again soon."

"Are you sure that you're ready to go now? I don't mind staying here for a while." Tigerheart assured her, but she shook her head.

"I'm ready."

"Okay then. Follow me." Asuna followed the dark brown tom towards the fallen tree bridge and as she did, she heard meows from every ThunderClan cat there saying their final farewells to her.

"Asuna, wait!" As she and Tigerheart were about to cross the tree bridge, she heard Kirito call her name, causing her to turn around. He got close enough so that their faces were only a mouse-length away. "Stay safe, okay? I couldn't live with myself knowing that you got hurt and I didn't follow you to ShadowClan."

"Weird, I thought I was the worrying one."

"I'm serious!" Asuna looked into his dark gray eyes and could see that he was beginning to cry. "I love you, Asuna. I can't live without you. I know I don't tell you that much, but—." Asuna silenced the black tom with a kiss to the cheek. Once she moved away, their eyes connected again.

"I know you do, you don't have to tell me it a dozen times, Kazuto." She sniffed, causing her to sigh. "I thought I was done crying and then you had to run up to me before I left!" Kirito let out a small laugh.

"Sorry, Asuna." He apologized before looking over at Tigerheart. "I know we just met, but can I ask you to protect Asuna if anything bad happens, Tigerheart?" The tabby tom nodded his head.

"I'll try to protect her as best as I can. I don't want this to be the last time you both see each other after all."

"Thanks."

"It's the least I can do." Tigerheart then turned his gaze over to Asuna. "Let's get going now."

"Okay. Bye again, Kazuto. I'll miss you." She gave the tom another small quick kiss to the cheek before she turned around and followed Tigerheart on her way towards ShadowClan.

"I'm sorry that it came to this." Kirito turned around to see Bramblestar standing behind him.

"It's not your fault. I could see how hard you wanted to decline Rowanstar's proposal, but it was Asuna being herself that made her go to ShadowClan." He assured the ThunderClan leader.

"Right." He placed his tail on Kirito's shoulder to comfort him. "You may think that your quest with Alderpaw ended up fruitless, but being a part of it and risking your life for the Clans shows me just what kind of cats you, Asuna, and Suguha are, and you each with always have my respect."

"Thank you, Bramblestar. That really means a lot." He responded. "Should we get going back to camp now?" The leader nodded his head and commanded his Clanmates to follow him back to camp.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kirito walked into the medicine cat's den once he got back to camp and saw Briarlight slowly open her eyes.

"Oh, hi Kirito. How did the Gathering go?"

"It went…unexpectedly." He told her before he took a seat right beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"ShadowClan claimed Violetkit as their own…and…"

"What else?" She noticed Kirito avert his gaze from hers for a moment.

"They took Asuna as well."

"What?" Kirito could see the sadness and disbelief in the she-cat's eyes. "Why would they do such a thing?"

"Because their medicine cat is getting old and they needed a new one. I just came here to tell you that because I know how much Asuna means to you."

"You shouldn't worry about I feel. She's your mate. I'm so sorry that this happened to you, Kirito." She gave the tom a comforting lick.

"It's okay. She made the choice to go anyway, but I know it's because she can't risk not helping cats in need." He responded. "Also…I just wanted to tell you that I don't mind helping you with your exercises until Lelouch wakes up again. I mean, I'm one part Asuna and one part Lelouch…in some sort of way." The she-cat let out a small giggle. "I guess your laughter means that it's okay?"

"Of course it is. Feel free to come in here any time."

"Are we interrupting anything?" Leafpool asked as she, Jayfeather, and Alderpaw entered the den.

"Oh, hey you three. I just wanted to tell Briarlight about what happened at the Gathering."

"Let's stop talking about it for the rest of the night." Jayfeather responded before he rested down on his nest. "It went bad for us, that's the bottom line."

"Right. I should get going now. I'll see you all tomorrow." Kirito passed through the brambles and when he left, Jayfeather let out a sigh.

"How?"

"How what?" Leafpool looked over at his son.

"How can he act like nothing happened? How can he keep his usual demeanor knowing that the cat he loves isn't here?"

"It's because of how strong Kirito is. You may not be able to tell, but I know he's hurting just as much as we are." Leafpool responded. "He knows that Asuna can take care of herself, but he still is worried that there's a possibility that something will happen to her. You heard how he sounded before she left with Tigerheart."

"I thought that we were going to stop talking about tonight." Alderpaw said monotonously. "Let's just go to sleep." Leafpool could see the pain in the apprentice's eyes. He cared so much about keeping the kits together, and he appreciated having Asuna around. _He's so young…and he's already gone through so much._

"Right. I'm sorry." The she-cat apologized. _Hopefully the future will be better for all of us soon._

Over at the warrior's den, Kirito was resting next to Suguha. Before he entered, he could hear cats talking about the Gathering tonight, but they noticed him walk in, they all went silent and looked over at him instead.

"Kirito, are you going to be okay?" Dovewing asked the tom. "We're all here for you…oh, and you too, Suguha."

"Thanks, Dovewing, but I think Kazuto might need it more than I do." She assured her.

"Don't worry about me, everyone. I promise that I'll be fine. I know Asuna's going to do greats things for ShadowClan and make sure that they're well taken care of. She loves helping those in need."

"I'm sure you'll see her again, Kirito. If anything bad happens to ShadowClan, she can fight too." Ivypool told him.

"Yeah. Hey, we still need to work on waking up Lelouch for you, Ivypool."

"He's right. ThunderClan's issues are beginning to slowly pile up. Hopefully tonight was the end of it for a long time." Lionblaze said.

"How do we even go at waking Lelouch up? There can't just be some sort of natural remedy." Blossomfall stated. "It has to do with some sort of prophecy."

"Maybe Alderpaw will get another vision again that'll help us find out how to wake him up." Cinderheart guessed.

"That's believable. Let's hope that he gets one soon." Rosepetal said.

"If he does, I'll be going with him." Ivypool declared. "I won't just sit here and wait for Lelouch to wake up. I want to be the one that helps wake him up."

"Then I'll go as well. We can work together, mother." Nightheart added, but Ivypool shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because I almost lost you on your last journey. I know you want to help your father, but it's my turn to risk me life for the sake of the two cats I love so much." She told her daughter.

"If we're already thinking of a party to go out and find how to wake up Lelouch, count me in." Lionblaze said. "I was the first cat that he met in this world. He's one of my greatest friends here and I'd do anything to wake him up."

"Suguha and I will tag along as well. We were brought to this world to help the Clans, but even so, we can't just watch as Lelouch just lies down in the medicine cat's den."

"Okay, let's not act like we're going out tomorrow you two. We still need some sort of guidance, and even so, Bramblestar would be the one to choose." Suguha told them, causing Kirito to sigh.

"Fair enough." Kirito let out a yawn. "All this talk is getting me pumped to start a new day, I guess."

"A lot has happened today. We should all get some rest now." Dovewing stated. The rest of the warriors agreed and snuggled up comfortably in their bedding before falling asleep. Before he closed his eyes, Kirito looked up at the starlit sky outside of the warriors' den.

 _We've all been through so much ever since we got to this world. Never would I ever thought that we'd meet up with Lelouch again, let alone be in a world full of talking cats. The experience I've gotten in this world with Asuna and Suguha is surreal. We've already been on one adventure already, but that one ended with Lelouch being unconscious, Violetkit being separated from Twigkit, and Asuna going over to ShadowClan. We believed that the kits were what we'd find in the shadows, but is that a possibility? Or, could it be that we need to go on another quest to continue finding what's hiding in the shadows? Regardless, I don't know where my next journey in this world will take me, but no matter what, I'll be here helping the Clans every pawstep of the way._

* * *

I hope that you all enjoyed Warriors: Everlasting Miracles: Turn 1: Link Start (That's a lot of colons.) As this one followed The Apprentice's Quest, the next story will follow the storyline of Thunder and Shadow. I hope that you all are enjoying this series so far and I hope you stay for the rest of it. Thanks for reading! ~Geasswolf Out.


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